Soul Of A Man
by SARuhh
Summary: Sequel to He Doesn't Know Why. After the Source's threat, the Halliwells have been bombarded by demon attacks. Constant fighting has had its toll on the family, but the demon has more in store for the family, and especially for Chris.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my own ideas. Title is a song by Beck.**

Well, here we are again! Thanks to all who read my last story and reviewed, I really appreciate it, and I hope you like this story just as much!

For new readers, I suppose you don't necessarily have to read my previous story, but it would probably be somewhat confusing if you didn't.

I'll keep this short, so please, enjoy the first chapter of the sequel to _He Doesn't Know Why!_

:)

* * *

Two groups of orbs appeared in the sun room of the Halliwell manor, one group forming the infamous Charmed sisters and another forming the Twice-Blessed and his younger brother. They were covered in dirt and demon guts, all looking worn and exhausted.

Paige collapsed onto a chair with a long sigh, sliding down the cushions as she looked towards her sisters.

"Oh my god." She exclaimed. "How many more demons are we going to have to fight today?"

Two weeks had passed since the Sources threat to Chris, and following that same day, demons were acting up and attacking more frequently, causing the sisters to break from their normal lives even more than they usually did. It was taking its toll on the three sisters and their families, and as each day passed, they all became even more and more exhausted.

Phoebe and Piper collapsed on the chair next to her, the youngest sister being squished in the middle between them. The last few demons they had fought were quite quick and skilled in the art of fighting. Though they really were no match for the Halliwells, the fight had taken some time and a lot of energy out of the witches, and now they felt as if they couldn't even move a muscle.

"Sorry." Chris replied from his spot across the room, head resting in his hand as Wyatt ripped at the torn part of his shirt and began to heal the seeping wound on his shoulder.

All three sisters looked up towards the young witch. He looked at them and gave a shrug of his shoulders right as Wyatt finished healing his wound. This was kind of his fault, he realized. If he hadn't vanquished the Seer, maybe not even let himself get kidnapped by the Seer - since it was all planned out by he himself to begin with - none of this would be happening. The Source was trying to make him suffer, and God, did the Source know how to do that. His apparent distaste for all things magic the demon had caught onto, and he knew that sending demon after demon to attack him and his family would easily wear and irk him. His body ached all over from constant fight, though he had just been healed, and he was so tired. And, to think, it was only four o'clock in the afternoon.

"You had to vanquish the Seer, Chris." Phoebe cut in, not even needing her empathy to know that the kid felt somewhat guilty for the sudden rise in demon attacks.

Chris' eyes narrowed, and the boy stood from his seat, declaring, "There could have been another way." He started his way out of the room, catching on to his Aunt Paige's quick and tired jibe.

"Seems like James Dean is never going to loss that attitude."

He almost stopped at that, almost. He was still mad at the family for hiding the whole other Chris thing from him. The fact that this was forcing him to spend more time with them wasn't helping either. He didn't like being with his family for long periods of time. More than ever, he liked to just get away from the Manor, go out with his friends, and just forget about this whole magical mess that surrounded him. But, when he left, a demon would soon attack either him or his family, and he'd be forced to be right back with them, fighting. The occasional lower-level demon he could handle by himself, and he was always thankful when one orbed in instead of a stronger one. He hated all demons though, he hated this mess that wouldn't just fix itself. It was like once he finally caught a break, finally had some time to relax and breath, something else magical would explode and ruin the peace. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. If the Elders didn't want him to stray from his magical destiny or whatever that crap was, they'd better step in at some point. That was a laughable suggestion though, because, knowing those assholes above, they were just going to watch again and let him suffer. They can't mess with what's been _"predestined." _He felt like he hated the word "destiny" more than magic, or even the single phrase that always caused his blood to boil, "Blessed Be, _Christopher_."

"Chris."

The call caused the boy to snap free from his thoughts and blink, falling back to reality and catching his father standing in front of him, wearing a small smile. Chris didn't get why his father was smiling, there was nothing to smile about. Well, maybe since _he _had no powers and wasn't fighting demons, there was. It was a beautiful day out; the sun was shining brightly, no clouds in the sky, and the weather was perfect - not too hot, but not too chilly. Chris had only had but a brief minute to take it in. He had been outside smoking a cigarette, staring up at the sky, relaxed, until his brother called him frantically, informing him of yet another demon attack. He _hated_ magic.

"How did the vanquishing go?" Leo asked his youngest son, instantly catching onto the sudden annoyance and hint of rage that was shining in his jade eyes. That was a big difference between him and his son; Chris didn't like magic too much, he didn't want his powers, he didn't like the idea of being forced to push aside his normal life because of it. Leo, on the other hand, was now powerless and missing the times when he had powers and could fight alongside his wife and family.

Although Leo was very fond of magic, a part of him hated it now as well.

He hated that, now, whenever he looked at his son, the boy looked different to him. Those visions had changed his son, the things he had seen had forced him to grow up faster, and the jade eyes that stared up at him were no longer the eyes of the child he remembered months ago. He had been forced to mature so fast - just like the other Chris had been forced to - and it pained Leo to see that.

"Great, dad." Chris responded with usual sarcasm, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at his old man. "It was a grand_ ol'_ time - well, other than the fact that my shoulder got hit with a _freaking_ energy ball, it was _lovely._" Chris pointed to the tear in his shirt that exposed the once singed and bloody bare skin that was now smooth and clean. "Wish you could have been there." He sneered.

Chris began to walk away, pushing by his father, but stopped dead in his tracks, flinching back before shutting his eyes.

This alerted Leo; by the way his young son looked, he knew instantly the boy was having a premonition. He had seen it happen many times with his son as well as Phoebe.

Leo placed his hands on his son's upper arms, watching and waiting for the boy to finally snap out of it. A few seconds passed, then suddenly, Chris' eyes snapped open, staring blankly at nothing until Leo started up.

"Chris," He called his son's name, the teenager's jade eyes suddenly darting to look towards him. "What did you see?"

He just stared at him for a second, not blinking, causing Leo to get a bit worried. Chris' eyes then snapped away from him quickly, focusing their gaze off somewhere behind his father, before the boy finally spoke up.

"Shit."

"Christopher -"

Before his father could even finish his scolding, Chris started into action, pushing his father out of the way - much to the man's surprise - and flinging his arms out, causing the three demons who had just shimmered in to fly back against the wall with a thud, bringing down a few family photos and broken shards of glass with them.

Leo stared in awe, mouth slightly agape, as he watched his son call out to the broken shards of glass and directed the glowing blue and white orbs that had engulfed them straight into the group of demons. All three let out separate, agonizing, hisses of pain as they were engulfed in flames, and Chris was silently thankful that he had had that premonition and that the demons were luckily a group of lower-level ones. Without that premonition, things would not have gone so smoothly.

The sisters and Wyatt had all appeared in the foyer now, hearing a loud bang that had instantly put them on alert. Each let their eyes avert from the small mess of glass and broken frames on the ground to Chris, and finally, to Leo, who still sat on the floor, staring up at his son.

Chris looked back towards the sisters and Wyatt, then over to his father. "The one on the left was going to throw a dagger into your back." He told his father with a shrug, the disturbing image still playing in his mind, but this time without sound. It hadn't been as bad as one of his visions, but still, he wasn't too fond of seeing any of his family hurt, and whenever he had to hear that sickening, painful gasp or scream, he always felt sick to his stomach. "I had to push you out of the way."

Leo just gave a simple nod and made his way back onto his feet, "I guess we should lay some crystals around the house again, just in case another demon decides to shimmer in today." This had been the first attack at the Manor in a few days - most of the attacks had been targeted towards Chris this week, and Chris was usually out, trying to get away from the family and everything magical.

"Good idea." Paige chimed in, giving a nod as Piper walked over to the debris left over from the small fight, leaning down to see what frames and what pictures had been broken.

"Phoebe and I will get right on that." The youngest sister added, looking over to her older sister, getting a look of approval from Phoebe.

The two started their way towards the stairs, somewhat in a hurry, hoping that there would be no more demon trying to attack until they finished placing the crystals. Though it would only block out lower-level demons, the two sisters weren't worried. As of late, that was mostly what was attacking them. The occasional upper-level demon shimmered in once and a while, but they never really were out of kill any one in the family. The fights did last for quite sometime though, and with each one, the sisters were getting more and more worn.

"And I'll just head out for a bit." Chris added, pointing his thumb towards the front door of the Manor as he took a few steps back. He was in need of a cigarette break as well as a break from demons and his family. He didn't know if he would get the former, but he had been with his family far too long that day, and he was starting to feel a trapped and awkward around them. Family time was always so odd to him now, he didn't know how long it'd take for that to end, but he assumed when he was finally completely over being mad at them, it would stop.

Piper's head instantly snapped up at her son's statement, dropping the one broken frame she was holding and turning to protest. "Oh, no you are not, mister!"

She stood up from her spot, watching as Chris crossed his arms and glared at her, ready for a fight. "I am _not_ staying cooped up in this house all day. I won't be able to make it without throwing one of you out a window."

"_Christopher_." Piper started, tone warning and facial expression stern. "What if a demon attacks? Remember what happened last time -"

"I just got hit by a dagger, no big deal." Chris shrugged his shoulders, arms still crossed, and Piper's expression took on a fierce change, the eldest Charmed One enraged by her son's statement.

"'No big _deal?_'" Piper repeated, voice disbelieving and tinged with rage. Her son had been hit by too many daggers as of late, and she wasn't ready to just blow it off as no big deal like her son was. Lately, she had been very protective of her youngest son, especially after all that had happened with him.

"I called you guys for help, and Wyatt healed me." Chris motioned over to his brother, who watched from his spot with a similar look that matched his mother's. His brother was acting like an idiot again, and, like his mother, Wyatt found being stabbed with a dagger as something much more than "no big deal".

"It wasn't like I was going to bleed out in that alley or anything." Chris went on. When his mother's expression didn't falter, Chris let out a sigh. He got why she was so worried, he did, but she couldn't keep him trapped in the house, wrapped in some plastic bubble until the Source got bored of sending demons to attack. He'd surely get cabin fever by then, and that would not be good for his family.

"Look," he started, "I'll call Wyatt if anything happens. He'll know anyway, cause of our bond, so stop freaking out and let me go, _warden_."

Piper narrowed her eyes as she saw her son grew one of his smirks. "Yeah, that's not helping your case any." She replied.

"I'll take vanquishing potions with me, I'll have my phone on me - and I'll actually _answer_ when you call for once - and I won't block Wyatt from sensing where I am at all times." Chris told her, very peeved, his annoyance growing tenfold as he spotted the smile that grew on his mother's face. She knew this wasn't ideal circumstances for him, but it definitely was for her.

"Fine." Piper finally agreed, Chris instantly rushing to the door, grabbed the few vanquishing potions that sat on the table beside it. "But you better do everything you just said! _Everything_!"

"Got it." Chris replied, not even turning back to look towards his family as he rushed out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

"You think he's actually going to follow anything he just said?" Piper asked, looking over towards her husband and eldest son.

The two looked towards each other briefly before turning back towards Piper.

"Not one bit." Wyatt replied, knowing his brother all too well. He had already tried to sense for his brother, and not even two steps off the property and the kid was already blocking him.

"Piper." Leo made his way over to his wife, wrapping an arm around her as she stared at the door, a mix of worry and anger staining her features. "You know our son," he started, looking up towards the door along with her, a small smile on his face, though a bit worried for the boy as well, "he's never been one to follow the rules."

"Oh, I know. I'm going to _kill _him when he gets back." Piper declared, staring at the door of the Manor, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

* * *

Chris sat on a bench in the park, across from the playground he used to play on as a kid, holding a cigarette between two fingers. Kids ran around the jungle gym, climbing on the monkey bars, climbing through tunnels, sliding down slides, and chasing each other through the maze of plastic and metal. Chris took a drag of his cigarette and placed his head in his hand, letting his eyes shut briefly, before opening them and allowing his gaze to land towards his shoes. God, he missed being a _kid. _Not for the usual normal reasons though. Well, yes, he missed being carefree, he missed being innocent, he missed always being happy, feeling like nothing could get him down, but what he really missed was not having to be involved in the magic world as fully as he was now. He didn't like having to be a part of this chaos, it just felt overwhelming. It was so hard to balance his normal life with his magic life, and he found himself struggling more and more as of late. He felt like he was just going to snap, break down and just scream and scream in frustration. There was so much going on, so _much_.

"I don't know how you do it." Chris spoke up, turning his head to look towards the woman who sat next to him, the brown haired Phoenix letting her eyes settle on the teenager before tilting her head.

"How I do what?" She asked.

Chris ran a hand over his face before sitting back up and taking a drag. "How you balance the two." He didn't have to say the two things, because he and Bianca had been having these conversations very frequently, and by now, she understand what the "two" were. He also knew it wasn't the best idea to speak of magic in a public place, where there were many open ears to hear him.

"Well, Chris." She started, "You know more of my life is centered around the other part." Bianca watched as Chris took a drag, rolling his eyes at her statement. He didn't understand why anyone would chose to immerse themselves in magic if they had the choice, but Bianca had grown up learning of it since she was a kid. She went on her first hunt when she was five, her life had been centered towards magic ever since she was born. Chris had been allowed to live normally for his childhood, and only when he got into the double digits was he exposed more to magic. A part of her wondered what life would have been like for her if she had been allowed to do the same thing Chris' parents had done for him, but she liked magic, she liked her life being centered around it. She couldn't help it, she just enjoyed the hunt.

"I do have a normal life too." She went on, "And I don't really know how I learned to balance it -"

"Maybe it's because you're not the son of a freaking _Charmed One_ and an ex-Elder." Chris cut in, speaking the statement with a hint of resentment and venom. He had kept his voice soft, making sure that only Bianca could here him.

"That may be one reason, but your parents still found a way to balance it." She reminded the younger witch, her eyes wandering back towards the playground, watching as a group of children chased each other up the slide. A small smile grew on her lips, watching as the kids ran and smiled ecstatically. She loved children, they were like a bright light in world of darkness. They know nothing of what hid in the dark, they were protected from it, and seeing someone so innocent was refreshing for Bianca, especially in her line of work.

Chris took a drag of his cigarette, letting his eyes wander back towards the playground as well. "You're forgetting that my dad's now a mortal and wishes more than ever that he could use magic again."

"So?" Bianca crossed her arms and let her eyes wander back towards Chris, watching as the teenager dropped the remains of his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out with his heel, all while pulling out another stick and lighting it. "Your mom found a way to balance it." She reminded him. After a pause, she started up again, "Speaking of your parents; do they know that we've still been seeing each other?"

Chris let out a laugh and slouched back, taking a drag from his cigarette as he let the stick hang from his lips. "_Hell_ no." He told her, pulling the stick out from his lips, "My mom wouldn't be too fond of me becoming buddy-buddy with an _assassin _witch." He paused for a minute, before adding, "She'd probably blow you up, then _me_, and I'd like to avoid that, if possible."

Bianca's lips curled up into a smile as she let out a small laugh. Chris was right on that. His whole family - especially Piper - would not be very pleased to see him becoming close to her in any way. It was odd, she had never pictured herself becoming friends with a Halliwell of all people, but ever since she had heard his name, she felt a connection to him. He felt it too, and now she couldn't imagine not seeing Chris every week, not having him in her life. The other Bianca's feelings still lingered inside her, and she felt that love for Chris, but not as strong as the other her. She cared for him deeply, she didn't want to see him hurt, and she knew Chris felt the same way towards her. Having those emotions from the other versions of themselves made things complicated. They were completely different people than their alternates, but in some ways, the completely the same.

Her eyes wandered over to Chris, watching as the brunette took a drag of his cigarette, jade eyes starring out towards the playground. "You know," Chris started, eyes still glued to the playground, "I wish I was still like them." Chris motioned over to the playground, Bianca's gaze drifting over that way. "I wish I didn't have to deal with any of this crap, I wish I was still allowed to ignore it all and just be _normal_."

Bianca had heard in the Underworld of the Source's little game he was playing with Chris and his family. He was sending demon after demon after them, ordering strictly that they were not to kill, they were just to fight. Of course, any demon would jump at the chance to be summoned by the Source to to actually go against the Halliwell family. Fighting with them was a great challenge, and if they did somehow manage to escape without being vanquished, they would have great pride and a right to it. She was really suspicious of the Source's motives though. Most of the Underworld claimed it was because of what Chris had down to the Seer, but Bianca knew the Source. He wasn't an idiot. He had kept himself away form the Halliwell family for so long for a good reason. There was something more behind this, something that the Source knew he could gain from this, but Bianca didn't know just what. She'd find out though, because she had a feeling it was something to do with Chris, and she would never let anyone harm him.

She looked back to Chris, watching as the boy blew smoke out from his lungs, sitting slouched on the bench, staring straight ahead at the children and the playground in front of them.

"You are _normal_, Chris." She insisted, seeing the longing and pain that he was trying to hid behind his gaze.

Chris let out a laugh and sat up straight, placing the cigarette between his lips, "Bullshit." He declared, looking her way. "We both know that's not true. So, please, Bianca, stop sounding like every other idiot adult in my life."

Bianca turned her gaze back to the playground, watching where Chris stared.

"You're right." She stated, Chris blowing out a cloud of smoke as she told him. "You're not normal - _we're_ not normal - everyone _around_ us is not normal. But that's our life."

"I never asked for this life." Chris told her, letting his eyes dart away from the playground, the children, parents, and _world_ that he envied, starting down at the cigarette in his hand. "I never _wanted _this life."

He wished he could be like them, he wished he could be like any other person in this park, any random, normal passerby who didn't have to worry about some demon randomly attacking them. He wished he could go through his life living in their world, filled with the minor problems such as work and love. He wanted to be just some ordinary, average Joe. But he knew, as much as he wished, he would never be normal. He wasn't _destined_ for normal, he was destined to do great, almost unreal things. He hated destiny, he wished that word didn't exist, just like he wished magic didn't. But, wishes don't come true; and there he was, sitting in the park, staring out at a normal world that he wasn't allowed to be completely part of, a world that he would always feel separated from.

That was all because of his heritage, all because of what ran through his veins, all because of _destiny ... _He _hated_ destiny.

* * *

The air was murky and the room was dimly lit, just the way the Source liked it. He sat at a table in the center of the room, his two closest minions to his sides, and two strong demons in front of him, finishing their bows before rising up and waiting for him to speak. These two were crucial to his plan.

"I know you must be wondering why I summoned you both here?" He started, watching as the two demons both grew wide smirks, already guessing why they had been called.

"I want you two to personally go after Chris Halliwell." The Source informed them. "Do not harm him though. I need you to work at breaking him and his brother apart - they already have a very strained relationship, so I believe the task will be no problem for you." He looked towards the demon on his right, watching as the old demon grew a wider smirk, looking excited.

"I'll take care of it." He told the Source, dark green eyes shining his excitement. "It's been a while since I've played with the Halliwell's, and if the rumors about the younger one are true, I bet he's got a lot to be afraid of."

"You've been vanquished by the Halliwell's four separate times, Barbas." The other demon pointed out, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "What makes you think that you'll escape vanquishing this time?"

"I'm a lot stronger than I used to be." Barbas told her, turning his head to look towards the demon by his side. "I've got a lot more up my sleeve now a days." He paused for a moment, smirk growing once again, before adding, "And, besides, I always come back. _Fear_ always exists, and along with fear, there is me."

"I've got a question, though." Barbas turned his head and looked towards the Source, devilishly, "Why don't you just kill the little Halliwell?" He inquired, "Not that I don't find the idea of messing with the kid not fun. I'm just wondering."

"Because," The Source started, "if I kill one Halliwell, I'd have the rest of them, including the Twice-Blessed brat, on my back." He paused, folding his hands and letting a small smirk grow across his features. "Besides, Chris could be of great use to me."

"Oh really?" Barbas asked, smirking, instantly intrigued, "Do tell."

"That doesn't concern you, _Barbas_." The Source hissed, tone changing, his voice almost threatening, reminding Barbas of his place. "You're just to work on pulling Chris farther and farther away from his family, _especially_ his brother."

Barbas raised his hands up, still wearing a small smirk. "Fine." He took a few steps back, letting his eyes wander over to the female demon beside him. He pointed a finger her way and asked, "Why'd you summon her then?"

The Source looked from Barbas to the demon beside him, starting to get very irritated by the Demon of Fear's questions. These things were none of the demon's business, and his cocky attitude was very displeasing to the Source. "She'll come into play later." He informed them both, the woman growing a wide smile at this, even more interested in her part of the plan. "I suggest you leave, Barbas." The Source ordered, "Your questions have really started to annoy me, and I need to talk to Altus in private."

Altus gave a smile and turned to Barbas, giving him a small, sadistic wave goodbye, each finger waving slowly at him.

"Report back to me periodically." The Source ordered Barbas. "Once Chris has been pulled far enough from his family, I can get the rest of the plan into motion."

"Yes, your highness." Barbas replied as he bowed, letting his eyes wander over to Altus one more time, the she-devil giving him a wide smirk. He knew she liked the idea that she was being used for a more important purpose than him, but he wouldn't let that get him down. He was going to be attacking the Halliwell boy, feeding off of the youngest's many fears, and boy, did this excite Barbas. The Halliwells were always such a challenge, and always so much fun to mess with. He had a feeling this brat wouldn't be any exception.

Barbas stood back up and looked towards Altus and the Source once more before flaming out, orange fire consuming him, leaving the Source and a smirking Altus behind, discussing the Source's true intention with messing with the Halliwell boy. Barbas almost wished he could stay to hear it, but he had a feeling that he would find out soon enough, once the plan was put fully into motion. Most of the success depended on how much he could torture the youngest Halliwell brother, and he would make sure to do a fine job with that.

Oh, he could hardly wait to feed off of Chris Halliwell, he had a feeling his fears were far more abundant and rich than any other witch he had ever fed on before.

* * *

Thank you all so much for reading and hopefully reviewing!

I've already started the next chapter and I will try to get it finished and up as soon as possible.

Thanks again for reading, and I hope you all review!

:)


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own thoughts and ideas.**

Thank you all _so _much for the reviews and PMs for last chapter! There were so many and I'm so glad you all the story so far!

Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

:)

* * *

Chris and Wyatt stood back to back, each alert and on the defensive as they stared at the demons that surrounded them. Wyatt had not expected the clan to actually be ready for them, and his plan to sneak in and use the element of surprise to their advantage had failed miserably. Now, he and his brother were surrounded by demons, greatly outnumbered, though much more powerful than all of them combined.

"You're an_ idiot._" Chris turned his head slightly, never letting his eyes wander off the demons in front of him for more than a second. He had been woken up from a peaceful sleep, one filled with no nightmares or visions of the other Chris, because his brother had come up with a so-called "_ingenious_ plan" to get rid of the clan of demons that had been reeking havoc on their lives as of late. Chris had been reluctant to go, but his brother had some pretty good blackmail on him, so he was forced to join.

The demons suddenly charged towards the two brothers, and Chris and Wyatt instantly snapped into action, one throwing energy balls while the other flung two demons back, sparks flying from his hands.

"'Let's _surprise_ them.'" Chris started, quoting his brother as he dodged the acidic goo one shot his way. "'They'll _never_ be expecting _us_ at_ this hour_.'" Chris dodged another attack, quickly swiveling around the demon and pressing his hand against the demon's back, shooting out sparks from his hand, causing them to fly through the demon's body. It convulsed and screamed in agony before being consumed by flames.

"I get it, Chris." Wyatt replied as he fiercely flung his hand out, causing three of the demons to fly backwards into a wall. He quickly dodged an attack from his right, before adding. "This was a stupid idea."

Chris let out a laugh as dodged another attack, flinging his hand out quickly, causing the demon who had just attacked him to fly across the room. "You got that right." He told his brother. "And mom's going to _kill_ you once she finds out about this."

Wyatt threw another energy ball, quickly vanquishing another demon, before turning his head to look towards his brother, ready to give a quick retort. The retort swiftly escaped his thoughts though when he noticed the demon that had somehow slid past him, hand releasing a blob of acid towards his unsuspecting brother.

"Chris, behind you!' Wyatt yelled, ready to raise his hand and blow the demon apart. He was suddenly stopped when he felt one of the other demon's hands wrapping around is forearm, pulling back, preventing the attack that he had planned to release.

Chris flung back the demons in front of him and turned quickly, spotting the green goo heading straight toward him. Chris did the first thing that came to mind, suddenly screaming out, "Green shit!" as he flung his hand out, causing the green acid to pause and be surrounded by blue and white orbs, the goo being redirected right into the demon it came from.

Chris quickly turned around and narrowed his eyes as he spotted the demons he had flung across the room. He suddenly flung his hands forward and sent crackling volts of electricity straight into their bodies, causing the demons to be consumed by flames before disappearing.

Wyatt finished off the few demons left on his side quickly, throwing his strongest attacks at the small bunch. Once the demons were gone, all that was left was the two brothers, panting and covered in dirt. The two looked over towards each other, Wyatt's lips curling up into an amused smile.

"'Green shit?'" He titled his head slightly, smirk still beaming, as he stared at his brother.

"What?" The boy asked between trying to catch his breath, shoulders giving a light shrug. "It worked, didn't it?"

Wyatt let out a laugh and gave a nod in response, making his way over to his younger brother. "Well," Wyatt started, "looks like my plan wasn't _that_ bad." He told his brother, motioning around them. "We vanquished them all."

"Yeah, we did." Chris replied. "But that doesn't mean you plan was good. It was stupid, but miraculously, we managed to beat them all."

"No," Wyatt shook his head, smirking a little. "It wasn't a miracle. It's just cause I'm the Twice-Blessed and -"

"Wow." Chris looked over at his brother and crossed his arms. "You_ really_ want me to get over being mad at you, don't you?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"What?" Wyatt started, raising his hands up, "I'm just saying."

"Let's go." Chris said, grabbing his brother's arm and orbing them quickly out of the Underworld and back to the manor. The Twice-Blessed comment had really irked him a bit. It was common knowledge that he had a crazy inferiority complex with Wyatt. Though Chris hated magic, he still always felt like he was overshadowed by his older brother because of his status. When anyone even said the words 'Twice-Blessed' Chris' temper started to rise. It didn't help his relationship with his brother, which had been falling to pieces for what felt like ages now. When his brother had betrayed his trust and told his family about his visions, that had been the last straw for Chris. It was like something inside of him snapped and he finally decided to pull himself farther away from his brother. He had been trying to hold onto their relationship, he didn't want to lose it, but with the visions and everything else that had happened, he just couldn't do it. He felt strained from all of his family, and maybe Wyatt was the one he still the closest to, but they weren't _that_ close. If something else major happened, Chris knew he'd force himself to shut down and break apart from his brother even more.

When they reappeared, they were standing in Chris' room, the sun starting to peaks its way out from the west, the moon vanishing below the horizon until the next night.

"Wow." Chris kept his gaze focused on his window, staring out at the beginning of the new day. "I'm never going to get back to sleep now." He turned his gaze towards his older brother. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"No problem, little brother." Wyatt jibed back, wearing a small smirk. Annoying his brother had been a pastime of his since he was just a child. He used to always pick on the boy, teasing him about this or that, getting Chris all riled up. Though Wyatt always ended up getting hell from his mother for picking on Chris, he still couldn't help but smirk and feel accomplished whenever he got to the kid.

Chris plopped down onto his bed and began to kick off his shoes, Wyatt watching him from near the window.

"Hey Chris." He started, grabbing the younger teenager's attention.

"Yeah?" Chris asked as he adjusted himself on the bed so that he sat crisscross, head slightly titled and the once vibrant annoyance that had been shining on his features faded and gone.

"I was wondering," Wyatt started, turning to face his brother as he leaned against the wall. "Have you had any visions recently?"

After a brief silence, Chris replied. "Yeah." He gave a shrug along with his response. Though he thought it was honestly none of his brother's business whether he had had one or not lately, he had decided to answer him anyway. It wasn't like saying he had one was revealing something big. He had visions still, they all knew it, and he would speak of that, but nothing else. He wasn't going to go on about what he was seeing, they all didn't need to know that.

Wyatt opened his mouth as if he was about to speak, but suddenly stopped himself, his lips clamping shut swiftly. Wyatt's brown eyes wandered off towards the ground, the older boy wondering whether or not he should ask his brother the question that had popped up in his mind. He wanted to know, but it wasn't like Chris was up for telling anyone anything. Maybe he would though ...

"Have you ... um ... had any visions where I - well, not me, the _other _me - "

"Don't even finish that sentence." Chris hissed, cutting him off quickly, his jade eyes narrowed in his brother's direction. "That's_ none_ of your business." A pause, "And, besides, it's not like it matters what the other you does to me or anyone else because that's not _you._"

He didn't understand why his father and brother felt the need to pry about his visions. His father just asked because, well, he was his _father. _His father was always interested in anything magical, and while he offered his ear for comfort and ease in case things became too much for him to handle on his own, Chris did not see himself ever accepting the offer. This was something he would never want to share with his family. This was stuff that he didn't like to think about, so why would he want to talk about it?

Wyatt wasn't like his father when it came to his prying. Yes, Wyatt would offer him an open ear if he ever needed to talk about things, but Wyatt was more concerned about what _Lord _Wyatt was like. Wyatt had only caught one glimpse of his alternate self, and what Wyatt saw he didn't like. His brother was still struggling to grasp the fact that he had turned evil in some other reality, and he knew Wyatt didn't want to fully believe it. Chris would not be the one to let his brother know more about his other self - what Wyatt saw was hard enough for him to handle and there was no way Chris could tell his brother about all of the innocent lives he had taken, about how he had killed almost all of their family. As much as Chris really disliked his brother sometimes, he would never lay that burden onto the older boy. He cared about him too much for that.

"Even after everything, you still keep secrets." Wyatt commented, a bit irked by his brother's response to his question. Though it had been expected, Wyatt was hoping that, for once, he would get a least a little information on the other him.

"This isn't any secret, Wyatt." Chris responded, crossing his arms. "This is just stuff I'm not choosing to share with you. So, deal with it."

Right as Wyatt was about the open his mouth to protest, Chris' door swung open and their mother stared at them, a storm of anger raging in her brown eyes. Their father stood behind her, looking relieved to see the two of them alive and safe. Chris had had a feeling that they were going to get caught; their mother had the hearing of a dog, as well as the temper of a wolverine.

"Oh, you too are in big, _big_ trouble."

Wyatt and Chris shared a look with each other, a small sting of fear flinching at the tone of their mother's voice and the death glare she was shooting them both. She looked as if she was ready to blow them up, and, given Wyatt's stupidity and his terrible plan that she would soon figure out, there was a good chance she might.

* * *

Chris sat outside of the manor with his brother and cousin, his back resting against the side of the house, cigarette in hand.

"I can't believe I'm still here right now." Chris commented aloud, voice tinged with irritation as he tapped the ash off of the end of his cigarette. Chris turned to his brother and pointed a finger his way. "_You_ should be the only one who's grounded. I can't believe mom still grounded me even though I was blackmailed into going with you."

"Well, _you_ were the one who would't tell her what I was blackmailing you with." Wyatt retorted.

"Because what you were blackmailing me with would have gotten by grounded until I was eighteen!" Chris spat back in defense, sending a glare his brothers way. The cigarette that had been dangling between his fingers was quickly back in his mouth and the boy took a quick irritated drag.

"Why don't you just sneak out, like you always do?" Their cousin, Peyton, asked form her spot next to the two brothers, staring with annoyance in her glare at Chris, eye on the cigarette that was in his mouth. She really hated it when he smoked around her, she was practically holding her breath to get away from the secondhand smoke.

"Because, it's a Friday Night Dinner." Chris reminded his cousin, as if the answer should have been rather obvious. He went on, "If I skip out, my parents will definitely notice an empty spot at the table."

"Well, then." Wyatt shrugged his shoulders, "Guess you're just stuck with us then."

He watched as his brother rolled his eyes, clearly showing his annoyance at the fact that he was stuck with them. Ever since the ceremony for Chris' visions, he had been skipping out on every family dinner. He'd always be conveniently gone seconds before their mother could threaten him with something and force him to stay. His brother had mastered the art of sneaking out, and his orbing power was probably a big factor in that.

It was weird. He never thought his brother would turn out to be such a _rebel_. As a kid, Chris had been very good, always keeping himself out of trouble, always doing the right things, never causing any mischief. _He_ had been the one to cause the mischief, and Chris had always been the one to just sit back and watch, or sometimes, even tattle on him. That was rare, because Chris worshipped him when their were kids, but he still did it here and there. Wyatt had grown up and stopped causing so much trouble, and now, he supposed, it was Chris' turn to act out and cause trouble. The things Chris were doing weren't little things like stealing a cookie or pushing a kid though, Chris' mischief was major. That was what worried Wyatt, as well as the rest of his family.

"Christopher and Wyatt!" Piper's voice called from around the front of the house. "You two better be out here. Especially you, Chris! If you orbed off I'm going to personally come and get you and drag your ass right back here!" Chris and Wyatt both rushed to get to their feet, Chris dropping his cigarette quickly and stomping it out with his heel.

The two brothers, followed by Peyton, made their way to the front of the house, spotting Piper standing on the porch, hands on her hips. Her brown eyes landed on her two sons and their younger cousin that followed them, her eyes following them as they made their way to her.

"Good, you saved yourself a scolding, mister." Piper commented, looking towards her youngest son, who was clearly not too pleased to be in her presence. She could also tell from the look on his face that he was holding back a sarcastic response. That must have been hard for him, considering the fact that the kid usually was always spitting them out left and right. She watched as the three strolled up the steps before starting to follow them into the house. They all made their way into the dinning room, where most of the family was gathering and taking their seats.

"Chris." She called her son's name, the brunette looking her way, a hint of annoyance in his eyes. Piper chose to ignore it though, and went on. "Could you help me get some stuff from the kitchen?"

"Whatever, sure." Chris responded, not sounding too pleased at her request, but obliging anyway.

The two made their way into the kitchen and away from the rest of the family. What they were unaware of though, was the fact that it really wasn't just the two of them. There was a third, a demon who had been following around Chris the entire day, watching his new assignment, studying him, waiting for the perfect time to start the first strike.

The demon watched as Chris leaned against the counter as his mother went to the oven, the boy looking rather peeved.

"Well, let's get this show started, shall we?" Barbas spoke with a smirk as he made his way over to the boy, placing his hand near him, a glow suddenly illuminating as he read the boy's greatest fears. He smiled as he felt them all, growing rather excited. He knew that the boy and his mother could not hear him, he knew that they had no clue that he was even there, and that made it even more of a thrill.

"Chris," Piper started as she grabbed out the garlic bread that she had been baking. "I know you're mad at me and the rest of the family for a lot of reasons." She placed the tray of garlic bread on the counter and Chris handed her a basket for the bread, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his mother's statement.

"And I know you think I'm being overprotective." She added as she began to place the slices of bread in the basket. "But I'm doing this because we don't know what the Source will throw out us next."

Barbas let out a laugh, lowering his hand from Chris. "She _doesn't_ know, does she?" He smiled, looking at his unsuspecting victim, watching as the boy leaned back against the counter, rolling his eyes. "And neither do you."

Barbas leaned back against the counter next to Chris, watching as the boy sent a retort his mother's way, complaining about how she needed to loosen up and how he could take care of himself. Barbas' smile never faded as he listened, leaning in towards the boy. "You know, you may be grateful for this protection eventually, kid. Who knows what the Source has in store for you, but I bet it's bad." Barbas spoke up, though he knew Chris couldn't hear him. "Well, actually, I think what I have in store for you might be _worse_."

Barbas looked towards Piper, a smile beaming on his face. He looked back towards Chris, smirking. "Let's see how you fare with this."

Chris rolled his eyes again as Piper gave him a pitcher of water and began to lecture him even more. Then, Chris heard a sudden gasp come from his mother, her eyes widening. She dropped the basket that she had been holding, the bread falling and scattering about around her feet. Chris' eyes followed the basket, but stopped when he spotted the crimson red that was seeping through her white shirt as well as the dagger that had caused it.

"Christopher." The voice that he could name as his brother's called his name, but his tone was different. This wasn't the Wyatt that he knew, this was the _other_ Wyatt.

Chris' eyes wandered up to meet his older brother's, spotting the boy standing behind his mother, looking exactly like the Wyatt he had just been sitting outside with moments ago, but a different look in his eyes, the look that he had wished to never see in his reality. The boy held the bloody dagger in his hands, causing Chris' eyes to widen. "She was going to get in my way." He insisted. "I've learned the truth, the same truth that the other me had learned: it's all about_ power_."

Chris' hand suddenly released the glass pitcher from its grasp, the pitcher crashing to the floor and smashing into pieces. He backed up into the counter, staring at his brother and bleeding mother wide eyed. No, this wasn't happening, this could not be happening! He had fought the Seer to stop this, he had made sure to hide everything from Wyatt so that he wouldn't turn out like this!

"No." He whispered, voice scared and disbelieving. "This can't be happening." Chris stared at his brother's hard brown eyes as he slid to the floor, never leaving the cruel boy's gaze. Chris couldn't believe this was happening, but there it was, right in front of him. His worst fears coming true; his brother turning into that _monster_ from his visions.

"It is." Wyatt assured him, a sickening smile gracing his features. "And now, a question I think you've heard many times already: Will you join me, Christopher?"

Chris backed up even more, trying to press his back even further into the cabinet behind him, his hands pressing into the shards of broken glass from the pitcher he had dropped, pricking and cutting at his skin, but he hardly noticed.

"No." Chris shook his head, bringing up a hand to grip at his head. He couldn't move, he was frozen, he was in shock. He couldn't handle this, he could not have his world turn into that _hell_, he couldn't!

"Chris!"

The boy blinked, and once he opened his eyes again, he was staring straight at the face of his worried and frightened mother. She wasn't bleeding anymore, her face had color, and Wyatt - evil Wyatt - was gone. He was replaced by Wyatt, _his_ Wyatt, and he knew that because the look was now gone from his brother's eyes. His family was now surrounding him, all looking concerned. His father was kneeling down next to his mother, wearing that same expression that the family always seemed to have on lately when they stared at him.

Chris' eyes went back to Wyatt, staring at the boy carefully, taking in every detail. Wyatt wasn't evil, but then, what the hell had just happened? He had seen Wyatt, he had seen his mother bleeding. It was as real as anything, and it didn't make sense. What had happened?

"Chris, Peanut." Piper placed a hand on her son's cheek, causing her son to avert his gaze from his brother and look towards her. "What just happened?"

Chris looked from his mother up to the rest of his family again, suddenly feeling very cramped and crowded inside the kitchen that now felt very small. He felt like he couldn't breath, and he didn't like all these eyes on him. He went to press his hands down against the ground to stand himself up, but his father quickly stopped him.

"Chris, no!" He screamed, grabbing onto one of his arms. "There's glass everywhere. You've already cut up your hands enough."

Chris stared at his father for another seconds before looking down at his hands, spotting the cuts and blood that seeped out from them, staining his hands red. Oh God, what the hell had happened? He was scared, really scared. He didn't understand what was going on. Was it his visions? But what about the ceremony? That hadn't felt like a vision either, it felt much more _real_.

"Chris." Piper called his name again, causing Chris to look back towards her, his eyes locking with her concerned brown ones. His jade eyes hid his emotions behind them, and he let his face show nothing that would cause anymore alert to his mother.

Chris quickly stood up, stumbling with his words, "I ... uh ... I ... " His eyes traveled over the many occupants in the room, feelings panicked and confused. He didn't know how to explain it, and he didn't feel like dealing with that right then. He just ... he needed some space and room to think. He couldn't do that in here, not with all of these eyes on him.

"Just leave me alone." He suddenly declared, pushing his way past his parents, making sure not to touch them with his bloodied hands.

"Chris, wait!" Leo called out to his son, following the boy out of the room quickly, most of the family moving with him, watching the scene unfold. Chris didn't turn to look at his father, just simply kept moving, speeding up his pace. "Let me look at your hands. There could be glass inside some of the cuts!'"

"Later." Chris instructed him, rushing even more to get away from his family now.

"No, Chris!" Leo called, voice going stern. He wasn't going to let his son win this time. When his kid was injured, he could deal with a yelling match with the boy. He wasn't going to let him walk off like that. "We're dealing with it now!"

Leo turned and motioned for Piper and the rest of the family to back off, assuring them that he would handle everything with a quick look, before he swiftly sped up his pace to catch up with the boy.

The two made their way up the stairs quickly, Chris trying to rush to his room. He was suddenly pulled off his path and into the bathroom by his determined father. Leo forced his son to sit down onto the toilet seat cover, the boy sending a glare his way.

"Dad, leave me alone!" Chris yelled, standing up and trying to force his way out of the bathroom. His father blocked the door, and clearly had no intentions of letting him go free. He didn't want to deal with his father, after what just happened, he was freaked. He needed some time to calm down, he needed to sort his thoughts out and think. What happened had felt so real, but it wasn't.

"Look, Chris." Leo started, grabbing his son's wrists to stop the boy from trying to get out of the bathroom. "All I want to do is treat the cuts on your hands, that's it. We don't have to talk about anything if that's what you want, but I _am _going to bandage up your hands, whether you like it or not."

Chris stared up at him for a moment, still fighting to get his arms free, before finally giving in. Leo let go of his son's wrists as he stopped fidgeting, the boy taking a seat back down where Leo had placed him. The ex-Elder quickly went to tending to the boy's hands, grabbing out a pair of tweezers, peroxide, and some gauze from the medicine cabinet, before putting his old skills to work. Chris just sat there, staring out into space, lost in thought, as he treated the wounds.

"Chris -"

"Dad, _please_. You said we didn't have to talk." Chris reminded him, looking at his father for a brief moment before turning his gaze away from him again.

"Alright." Leo replied reluctantly.

Leo wanted to know what had happened, he wanted to help his son in more ways than just treating his wounds. He wanted to know what had caused him to drop that pitcher, what had caused him to react like he did. His wife had looked so confused as well, wanting answers more than he probably did. She had witnessed whatever had happened, but had not clue what it was. His son had looked so freaked out, what he said hadn't made any sense. As Leo tended to his son's wounds, trying to be as careful as possible when he pulled out small pieces of glass, he was thinking up possible theories. The first was a premonition, but it had been an odd premonition, if it was one.

Chris suddenly flinched back, his hand flying away from Leo's gentle grip, his eyes wide. A small gasp escaped him and he stared at his hand, before looking back towards his dad.

"Sorry, buddy." Leo apologized with sincerity.

His father's not so gentle slip had snapped Chris from his thoughts, which unknown to both, were rather similar to Leo's. They both had been trying to figure out a reason for what had happened - though Leo did not completely know what had happened. Chris' mind screamed it's first idea of his visions, but it didn't add up. It was no vision, that Wyatt had been his Wyatt, but not really. He was confused, and he was really sick of having to deal with things like this.

When Leo finished wrapping his hands up to protect the open cuts, Chris instantly stood up and pushed his way past his old man, rushing out of the bathroom and quickly making his way to his room. The door was shut and locked swiftly, and Chris sat down on his bed, looking down at his now bandaged hands. His thoughts kept trying to go over what had just happened, trying to figure out what was wrong with him, but the pain in his hands was really starting to get noticeable. He'd have Wyatt heal it eventually, but right now, he had to think. What had just happened? He didn't know, and that scared him. What he had saw frightened him more than any vision, what he saw had felt real, like it was really happening, and he didn't understand it. What if he was really going crazy or something? He had been close to it for what felt like ages now, maybe something in his head had just snapped and now he finally belonged in the nuthouse.

Right then, he didn't want to think about that. He needed to get out of the house, he needed to get away from magic and all this shit for a bit. He needed to go do something _normal_.

Chris stood up and grabbed his set of keys from off the bed and stuffed them in his pocket before orbing off, trying to forget about what had just happened and go on living what he wanted: a normal life

Barbas watched as the boy disappeared, wearing one of the biggest grins he'd ever been able to possess.

"Now," Barbas commented, looking around the boy's room, "That was a fun first run." He paused as he walked over to look at stack of books on the boy's desk. "I feel so energized, so refreshed!" He spun around, the long black tails of his shirt flowing with him. "I haven't gotten a fear that _terrifying_ in years!" Barbas exclaimed. Suddenly, his grin grew wider and he felt even more excited.

"And we're just getting started."

* * *

Thank you all so much for reading and hopefully reviewing!

I'll try to get the next chapter written and up as soon as possible!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and thanks again for reading!

:)


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Got it? Good. :)**

Thank you all so much who reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate it and I love to hear what you all think, so keep it up! :)

I got this chapter done pretty quick, but ended up being super busy up until today, so I didn't have time to edit it.

I hope you all enjoy it!

:)

* * *

Piper pulled a brush through her hair, working to get out the knots as her eyes travelled over to the door of the room she shared with her husband, waiting for him to walk in. After Leo had returned from treating Chris' wounds earlier that night, they had not had time to talk about if he had gotten any information out of their youngest son. With the family there, they decided to just go on with the dinner and deal with the Chris situation later. He still wanted to be left alone, Leo had told her that when he returned (though everyone in the family had figured that, since he practically screamed it) and Piper had decided to give the boy some time before talking with him. She had a feeling he'd end up going downstairs and out of his room at some point to get some food since he skipped out on dinner.

Hours had passed and he was still in his room. She had almost knocked on the door an hour ago, feeling the need to talk with her son and figure out what had happened in the kitchen, but she decided not to. She'd give him some alone time, because whatever had happened, he had looked very freaked out.

The door finally opened as Piper started to pull her hair into a ponytail. She watched as her husband walked in and shut the door behind him. The two locked eyes, Leo giving her a small smile for a greeting as he walked towards her.

"Hey." She greeted him with smile. Leo leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips before settling down next to her on the bed.

"So, did you get anything out of him?" Piper asked her husband, very curious and hopeful that Chris had spilled something to her husband. She never liked being kept in the dark, especially when it came to her children. After seeing Chris' reaction to whatever had happened, she desperately wanted to know what had caused it.

Leo let out a sigh and shook his head. "He didn't want to talk about it. He was very clear on that." He told his wife, which didn't surprise Piper in the least. "He let me bandage up his hands, but that was it. I haven't seen him since then." He paused, "I knocked on his door before coming in here, but he didn't answer. He must have already gone to sleep."

Piper stood up and walked over to her vanity, placing her brush down on the wooden surface. "What do you think happened?" Piper asked her husband, knowing that if anyone - well, other that Chris - would have an idea about what happened, it would be Leo. Her husband knew so much about magic and was almost like a walking encyclopedia of it.

"Well," Leo started, "I've been working my way through possible theories of what happened - You said he just started to freak out while you were talking to him, right?"

"Yeah," Piper said, turning to look towards her husband and leaned against the vanity. "We were talking - he was looking right at me - and then he just went wide-eyed and just looked so _terrified_. His eyes went behind me, like he was staring at something, and he dropped the pitcher."

"You think he had some sort of premonition or something?" Piper asked after a pause, trying to find an explanation to what had happened. "Maybe it had something to do with the other Chris and his visions?"

"I don't know." Leo responded, giving a shrug. "Possibly." A pause. "I'd really like to hear from him about what he saw, but I doubt he'll actually tell me anything."

"I wish he would stop keeping secrets from us." Piper told her husband as she let out a sigh. "I know we did the same to him, and I feel so terrible about it, but keeping secrets hasn't done us any good, and we all can see that now." Piper gripped the edge of the vanity, her eyes falling away from Leo as she added with a small smile. "The other Chris really rubbed off on him, huh?"

"Yeah." Leo's lips curled into a small smile, remembering the twenty-two year old's secretive tendencies. His smile faded as the hidden guilt he had been dwelling on for years suddenly emerged again. "I feel so guilty about how we treated him sometimes - about all the things _I_ did to him." Leo hadn't trusted the future traveler since the beginning of his stay. He had physically fought his _son_, he had tried so hard to get Chris away from the Charmed Sisters and to protect his family, and then it turned out that Chris_ was _his family!

"We didn't know." Piper reminded him, the guilt she felt for being so untrusting of the young whitelighter resurfacing again. Piper made her way back to her husband and sat down beside him. She grabbed onto his hand and clasped it tight. "He kept so many secrets, you were just trying to do the right thing for us."

"I know, but all he was trying to do was help us!" Leo reminded her. "He was trying to save our son, our_ family, _and I was so determined to fight against him - _my own son_."

"Mom!"

The call caused both Piper and Leo to look toward the door, both watching as their oldest son burst through, looking panicked and worried.

"Something's wrong with Chris!" He exclaimed, causing both of his parents to instantly become worried and alert. "Something happened to him - I can feel it - and he's not blocking me from sensing him right now, so we _have _to go!"

"Wait, he's not in his room?" Piper yelled, standing up from her seat, anger mixing in with her worry. Well, _that_ explained why no one had heard or seen him since what had happened in the kitchen. He snuck out. _Again_. Oh, she was definitely going to get Leo to take the knob off his door. Whenever he locked it, they never knew if he was really in there or not.

"He must have snuck out." Wyatt told her. "It's not surprising or anything, but something's wrong. I think demons must have gotten to him."

"Alright," Piper nodded, calming herself down somewhat so that she could take control and get into action. "Go get some vanquishing potions from the attic in case we need them."

Wyatt gave a nod and swiftly turned on his heels, rushing out of his parents room to get to the attic. He knew something had happened, because of their bond, and he had been woken up by a strong sting of pain in his chest, as if he had been burned. He'd never felt that before, he'd never been able to feel pain that his brother was in before now, but he knew it had to be Chris. He could still feel it, and he knew his brother needed him. At least the kid had been smart enough to stop blocking him and let him sense him.

Piper and Leo shared a worried look as Wyatt disappeared, sharing their concern and worry as they locked eyes.

* * *

Chris let out a hiss of pain as he grabbed his chest, feeling as his skin tingled and burned agonizingly. He had been walking to an alleyway to orb home from a party, and - out of nowhere - a demon shimmered in and decided to attack him. He was in no mood to fight - as well as no condition, giving the fact that he had a few drinks. He wasn't drunk, but he was a bit tipsy, and fighting demons while intoxicated was never a good idea. He hadn't been drinking anymore every since the ceremony, and he had kept himself sober until that night. What had happened earlier had really spooked him, and he needed to forget for a bit. Of course, the one night that he decided to have a few drinks again and a group of demons would attack him.

The demon who had hit him stared at him with a smirk, his black eyes shining accomplishment.

"Lucky shot." Chris commented as he forced himself to forget the pain that radiated from his wound and stood himself up straight.

Another energy ball was sent his way and Chris ducked down, barely dodging the attack. He flung his hand out, causing the demon to fly into the wall. "Dammit." He hissed, the stinging pain in his chest becoming more prominent again. Those few drinks he had were really impairing him. He was becoming incredibly sloppy. His reaction times were much slower than usual and this demon was sending out attacks left and right, which did not help him any.

Chris went to stand himself up again, using the brick wall beside him for support, but he suddenly felt two hands wrap their long, boney fingers, around his arms. He noticed the demon in front of him still wearing that smirk, and Chris turned his head to spot the demon's friend holding onto his arms. The other demon forced his arms behind his back. His grip was strong and tight, not allowing Chris any room to squeeze free.

"Hey!" Chris screamed, trying to wiggle free. "This is unfair! Two against one isn't even odds!"

"Who said this was going to be a fair fight?" The demon hissed, smirking, as he walked closer to Chris, watching as the teenager tried to break free from the hold that the other demon had on him.

"Wow, Jeric, picking on a little witch like this?" A female voice spoke up from behind Chris, not allowing the kid to get a good look of who it was. "I can't believe you've stooped so _low."_

Chris watched as the demon in front of him narrowed his eyes at the woman behind them. He crossed his arms and hissed. "Stay out of this. It was the Source's orders."

"Fine." She responded. Chris felt the grip on his arms loosening up, allowing him to move a little more freely. He turned his head back, finally able to see the woman behind them. She had short raven black hair and dark brown eyes. Dressed in slutty tight black leather and high-heeled boots Chris could instantly tell she was a demon. So why was she interrupting like this? Chris locked eyes with the female demon, her dark hazel eyes staring straight into his. She suddenly winked at him, as if this was some sort of signal, and spoke up. "Why don't we just even up the odds a little?"

The demon suddenly raised her hand and orange flames started to swirl around her palm madly. Chris suddenly kicked the demon that was holding him and slipped out from his grip, making sure to duck down as the unfamiliar demon threw the fire towards them. The demon behind Chris let out a terrifying hiss and was consumed by the flames, disappearing into thin air, allowing Chris to get a full view of the woman. Chris turned his head, quickly remembering the other demon, Jeric, and narrowed his eyes. He flung out his hand, causing sparks of electrically to fly out from his palm and straight into Jeric. Chris was surprised he didn't miss, considering his state, but he was thankful to see the demon scream painfully before being consumed by flames himself, leaving the alleyway empty except for the presence of the unknown female and himself.

"Maybe you shouldn't drink when you know the Source is sending demons after you." The female responded, causing Chris to turn his head and spot the woman standing above him. She held out her hand for him and Chris accepted, stumbling up to his feet, a little dizzy. "Aren't you a little young to be drinking anyway, witch?"

"I don't see why that concerns you." Chris retorted with a bit of venom in his voice. He really hated when demons refereed to him simply as "witch."

The demon let out a laugh and gave a nod, agreeing with him. "What's your name, witch?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, showing his suspicion of her clearly by his facial expression. He didn't trust demons, that was pretty much a rule any witch knew to follow. He didn't understand why she had helped him, especially since he was a Halliwell. Didn't most demons want to see the Halliwell's be taken out?

"You've got a right not to trust me." She commented as she crossed her arms. "My name's Meg."

"_Meg_?" Chris repeated, a little surprised by her common name. "I was expecting something more -"

"Weird?" She cut in, finishing his sentence for him, a small smile gracing her features. "You know, it's more common for demons to have normal names than weird ones." She pointed out for him.

"Well then, _Meg_." Chris started up, crossing his arms, suspicion still lurking in his features. "Why'd you help me fight off yourfriends?"

"They're not _my_ friends." She responded, wearing a look of distaste. "I'm a neutral demon, for your information. I'm selfish." She smiled at that. "I only do what I think will benefit _me." _She studied Chris for a moment, before adding, "I just happened to be in the area, looking for Jeric, and there you happened to be, with him."

"Why were you looking for him?" Chris asked, ready and alert to fight her if she decided to spring an attack on him. He still didn't trust her, though she had saved his ass.

"Because, that little _bastard_ broke a deal with me, and I wasn't going to let him get away with that." Meg explained, expression shining some anger before she let a small smile grow on her face again. "I told you, I'm selfish."

"So, witch," She started, "you ever going to tell me your name?"

Chris eyed her suspiciously, taking in her appearance fully once more, trying to determine if she was trustworthy or not. She had helped him, and Bianca was rather similar to her. Not good, not evil, only did things that benefited her. Good ol' Terry was like that too. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to give her his name.

"I'm Chris." He replied.

"Oh." She exclaimed, instantly recognizing who he was. "_That's_ why Jeric and his buddy were attacking you." She paused with a smile. "You know, you _really_ pissed the Source off by vanquishing the Seer."

"I know." He responded, suddenly remembering the energy ball that had hit his chest. The painful sting of his singed skin started up more prominent again, reminding Chris that he needed to be healed. He had let his block down too, so Wyatt could sense him and would come for him - well, hopefully.

"My brother may be coming soon." He told her. "So you might want to get out of here before he orbs in and decides to attack you without question."

She gave a nod in response, agreeing that that was the best idea. "I'll be seeing you then, Chris." She smiled and pulled out something from her pocket. "Here." She held out a necklace with a small metal charm on it. Chris was hesitant to take it. "It'll allow you to call me whenever you need some back-up."

"Why should I be calling _you_?" Chris asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, like I said, I'm neutral, and I think helping you could get me on the good side of your could come in handy someday." She paused. "And, from what I heard around the Underworld, you're not too fond of your family right now." She smiled at him. "You could just call me instead of them. Plus, I do owe you for taking care of Jeric for me, don't I?" She dangling the necklace again, watching as Chris stared at it. "Consider this returning the favor."

Chris stared at the necklace for a minute, taking in the design, deciding whether or not this was a good idea. On one hand, she was a demon, demons aren't the most trustworthy of all creatures. She claimed she was neutral though, and like Bianca, worked for neither side. He also liked the idea of not having to call his parents and instead, having an ally that wasn't them. It would help his need to escape the family, since he wouldn't have to call them for help. Neutral beings are in it for themselves, and she gave him a motive straight up, so maybe this arrangement could work out. She was also pretty hot, something that gave this demon extra points in his book.

Chris held out his hand and Meg dropped the necklace into his palm, a smile on her face. "Keep yourself safe, Halliwell. The Source can be a real bastard." She told him, and after one small wave of her hand, she shimmered out.

Right as she shimmered out, Chris felt Wyatt's presence coming closer. He heard the familiar sound of orbs and turned his head, spotting a blue and white glow a few feet away from him. He looked down at the necklace in his hand again before stuffing it quickly in his pocket. When Wyatt appeared with their mother, Chris fought the urge to yell at Wyatt for bringing her. For one, he's _grounded_, and he snuck out, so that wasn't going to fly over well with his hot-tempered mother. Along with a scolding about that, he'd get one about orbing off when the Source has been after him. He was definitely not in the mood for any of that.

After looking around for the demons and only spotting his brother, Wyatt asked, "Are you okay?" He swiftly made his way over to his brother, Piper following behind him. "Where'd you get hit?"

"Wait, how do you know I got hit?" Chris asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"I felt it happen." Wyatt explained, noticing the singed fabric and the hole in his shirt. His eyes quickly caught onto the injury. "I think it has something to do with our bond."

Chris let out a snort. "Oh,_ great_. Now it's getting stronger."

Wyatt rolled his eyes and brought his hands up to Chris' chest, a gold light illuminating from his palms as the wound began to close up and disappear.

"What are you even doing here, Chris?" Piper exclaimed, motioning around to their surroundings. "Did you forget that you were grounded this morning?"

"No." He replied with a roll of his eyes. "I snuck out. Did you not expect this?"

Piper narrowed her eyes. Chris was always making it his goal to disobey her. Whatever she told him to do, he always tended to do the complete opposite of it. The kid could not just do what she said for once in his life and follow her rules. They were rules for a reason. Piper went to open her mouth, ready to scold her son, a fury burning in her eyes.

"Let's skip the yelling match, alright?" Chris replied, stopping her from starting up. "I get it. I'm in big trouble, you're really angry, or disappointed, or whatever." Chris let out a yawn and ran a hand over his face. "Let's just go home, okay?" He asked, looking toward his mother, and then to his brother.

Chris didn't wait for an answer, instead, he just orbed out, leaving Wyatt and Piper to follow his example.

Piper let out a sigh and looked toward her oldest son. If it wasn't so late at night, she would have had Wyatt orb her home quickly, a storm still raging inside her, and would have scolded her youngest son to no end. The scolding that she got interrupted from giving would have to wait till tomorrow, she supposed. Wyatt placed his hand on her arm, and the two disappeared in swirl of orbs.

* * *

_Chris stared at his father, jade eyes narrowed and overflowing with an intense hate. His father stood a few feet away from him, keeping his distance. His old man could barely even look at him, and that suited Chris just fine. He _should_ feel guilty for what he was doing, for what _all _of them were about to do to him, and he hoped that guilt ate away at his father like a parasite. _

"_How can you do this to me, Leo?" Chris asked, voice tinged with hate. Leo's eyes darted his way briefly, spotting his youngest son standing a few feet, trapped in a crystal cage. "How can you just let them give me back to Wyatt?"_

"_Christopher." Gideon started, grabbing the boy's attention away from his father. "This is for the Greater Good. We cannot allow any of us Elders to be taken out by your brother, and this way, we might have a chance of guaranteeing our safety." _

"_I don't give a _shit _about the Greater Good, _Gideon._" Chris responded, venom in his voice. Chris went to grab one of the crystals, trying to break the circle, but felt a shock fly through his body and was thrown back. After recovering shortly, he propped himself back up, eyes falling onto his father. "Leo, stop them!" He paused, the hate in his eyes dying down a bit. _"Please_ don't let them do this, dad, _please."

_Leo looked toward his son, eyes wide, as he heard the boy call him "dad."_ _Chris had not called him that since he was a kid, and hearing that for the first time in years, especially in the context his son had used it in, tore at his heart. His son was begging him - pleading with him - to help him, to do the right thing for him and protect him like he was supposed to all those years ago. It suddenly felt like every time Leo had ever let his son down again. Every missed birthday, every missed soccer game, every missed school play. He remembered the look of disappoint on his youngest son's face more than a smile, and it shouldn't be that way. He _never_ should have let it be that way. _

_Black orbs began to appear and swirl around an area near Leo, the orbs coming together and making the form of Leo's eldest son, Lord Wyatt. Wyatt looked toward his father, then to his younger brother, who sat on the floor, trapped in a crystal cage, hints of anger, disappointment, and defeat all evident in his eyes._

_After studying his brother, Wyatt's eyes darted over to Gideon. "I'd like to have a moment with my father and brother. _Alone_." _

_Gideon hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting over to Leo, before giving a nod in response and orbing out._

_Wyatt's eyes traveled from Leo to Chris as he made his way towards the crystal cage his brother was being kept in. "What a nice little family reunion." He commented as he kicked one of the crystals out of place, breaking the cage and allowing his younger brother to roam the room freely._

"_We've given you Chris, Wyatt." Leo started to speak, catching both Wyatt and Chris' attention. "Now, leave us Elders alone."_

_Wyatt let out a laugh and turned to his brother, seeing the hate that glistened in his eyes. "Do you hear that, Christopher?" Wyatt asked, causing his brother's gaze to avert from his father and over to him. "He's trying to order _me _around." Lord Wyatt's gaze suddenly snapped back towards his father, his hand flinging out with it, causing Leo to slide back against the wall, unable to move._

"_You know," Wyatt started, making his way closer to his father. Chris called his name, his tone telling him to stop what he was ding, but Wyatt ignored it and went on; "I can't believe you would do this. I mean, you've always been a shitty father to Chris," Wyatt slammed his father back into the wall hard, his temper rising, "but, giving your own _son _to someone like me, now that's plain _evil._"_

"_Wyatt!" Chris called, tugging on his brother's arm, trying to get the older boy to release their father. "Let him go!"_

_Wyatt's gaze fell onto Chris, catching the small fear in his jade orbs. Wyatt raised an eyebrow at this, confused. "Chris, after what he _did _to you, after how bad he's treated you, you of all people should want to see him suffer. You should want to see him _dead._" Wyatt hissed the last word with such anger and pushed his father harder against the wall, Leo still struggling to break free. Wyatt raised his hand and an energy ball appeared in his palm, his eyes narrowed at his father, ready to attack._

"_No, Wyatt!" Chris screamed, running in front of his father, blocking Wyatt from throwing the energy ball at him. "I may hate him, but he's still my_ father. Our_ father!"_

"_Get out of the way, _Christopher!" _Wyatt ordered, tone fierce and filled with rage. _

"_No!" Chris screamed, firmly standing his ground. "If you want to kill him, you'll have to go through me first!"_

"_Goddammit, Chris!" Wyatt yelled, temper flaring. "Get out of the way!"_

"_No!" Chris suddenly flung his hand forward, catching his brother by surprise. Wyatt flew back, the energy ball in his hand suddenly disappearing and his grip on his father finally breaking._

_Wyatt landed on the floor with a thud, blood boiling and temper at its breaking point. He quickly recovered and flung his hand out at his brother, causing the boy to fly to the side, smashing into a table a few feet away from his father._

_Wyatt stumbled to his feet, eyes narrowed as they flashed from Chris to his father._

"_Wyatt!" Leo called, voice stern. "Stop this!"_

_Wyatt flung out his hand and pushed his father into the wall, his telekinetic hold tight on his old man. Wyatt summoned up an energy ball, his eyes flashing to Chris, watching as the boy stumbled to his feet, his jade eyes going wide as he spotted the energy ball that was in Wyatt's hand again. Wyatt's eyes flashed back to his father, ready to end hims pathetic afterlife once and for all. He raised his hand and threw the attack, eyes going wide as he spotted his brother up again and right in front of his father, the ball heading right toward him._

_Chris watched as the ball flew to him, almost as if it was in slow motion. He knew it would hurt, and a part of him didn't understand why he was protecting his father. Wyatt was right, he of all people should want to see him dead. For some reason, he didn't. He couldn't lose one of the only family members he had left, even if the man was a real bastard._

_The ball collided into his chest, everything suddenly speeding up._

Chris woke up with a start and jolted up in bed, panting madly. He was drenched in sweat, body almost shaking in fear. He ran a hand through his brown hair and looked around his room, spotting the bright sunlight that snuck its way through his blinds. His eyes darted back to his night table, hand instantly grabbing for his phone to look at the time. He couldn't spot Barbas sitting at his desk, looking rather amused by the boy's sudden wake up.

He wore a wide grin. "I can feel the fear radiating off you, Chris." He commented, though the boy could not hear him. "Oh, I wish I could have seen what you were dreaming about, it must have been so _thrilling!"_

Chris dropped his phone, pushed his covers off and got out of bed. He kneeled down and started to pat around under his bed, stopping when he found the items he was looking for. After standing up, clutching two small - but important - items in his hand, he made his was over to the door and unlocked it. Barbas popped up from his seat and turned to follow the boy, watching as the kid rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He made his way down the stairs barefoot, only dressed in a pair of boxers and a shirt. He planned to sneak out for a quick smoke before breakfast, a cigarette and his lighter clasped in his right hand.

He suddenly caught on to a set of voices, all very familiar to him, talking in the sunroom. He stopped near the door, keeping himself out of sight of the room's occupants by leaning his side against the wall.

"So, I have a brilliant idea." Paige chimed in, sounding as awake and alert as ever, though it was still pretty early in the morning - well, for Chris, at least. "We could just vanquish the Source. Wouldn't that solve everything?"

"The Source hasn't even shown himself once since when he threatened Chris." Piper pointed out, the sound of pages being turned as she spoke leading Chris to believe she had the Book of Shadows. "He's just been sending demons - mostly _weak_ demons - to attack us."

"Very weak demons." Phoebe added. "They all seem to suck at fighting, which is odd, since even the upper-level demons aren't really up to par."

"Maybe they're not fighting to their full potential." Leo suggested.

Chris' thoughts flashed back to his vision, his mind starting up again with comparing that Leo and his own father. He always tended to do that after having a vision about his father and spotting the man in his real life. They were so different, but in ways, exactly the same. He just didn't understand how the other Chris had such a terrible relationship with Leo. What had happened to cause such a rift, what had made the other Leo decide to completely blow him off half his life?

"Why wouldn't they be, though?" Paige asked, her tone hinting toward her bemusement.

"Maybe the Source has some bigger plan we're just not catching onto." Leo proposed, catching the sisters and Chris' attention.

His father was a smart guy, and he was probably right on there being some bigger plan that Chris was unaware of. Why would the Source waste this much man power without some sort of bigger scheme going on in the background? He'd have to take a little trip to the Underworld Markets and talk to Terry, Bianca, and maybe even his newly acquired demon connection, Meg, to find some answers.

"Then why send all of these demons after us?" Piper asked, the sound of pages turning coming to a halt as she spoke up. "To distract us?"

"Maybe." Phoebe commented. "But what would the Source want with Chris?" A pause, "I mean, he's very powerful and all, but wouldn't Wyatt be the better candidate, considering his Twice-Blessed status?"

Chris' temper instantly rose at the mention of his brother and his Twice-Blessed status. So, is that what his aunt though? He wasn't good enough to be wanted be the Source because he wasn't as strong as Wyatt? Dammit, he was powerful! Damn Wyatt and his stupid Twice-Blessed status, he hated always being overshadowed by his older brother.

Chris tightened his grip on his cigarette and lighter, squeezing his fist closed tight. He didn't want to hear anymore, he just wanted to go have his smoke and enjoy his morning, pushing thoughts of Wyatt and the Source and magic aside.

Chris started his way past the doorframe, hoping not to be spotted, but stopped in his tracks as his mother called his name right after he passed the open frame.

"Chris?"

He held the hand that gripped his cigarette and lighter behind his back and made his way back to the frame, putting on a fake, small smile.

Piper gave him a smile in return, as well as his father and aunts. Phoebe's face shined a smile, but he could tell she was wondering if he had just heard what she said, guilt creeping in through her eyes.

"Nice boxers." Paige responded, not able to help resist the urge to tease her nephew.

Chris sent a look her way in response, choosing not to speak a retort. He suddenly felt awkward being around them, and not just because he was in his boxers. They had just been talking about him, and he hated how they were looking at him now. He was getting used to the look, but still, it made him uncomfortable.

"I need to go make a call." Chris told them, lying, motioning his finger towards the front door, though they couldn't see it. "I don't have good signal in my room."

"Oh," Piper replied, "um, well, go ahead then." She told him, "Just don't leave the property, you're still grounded. We also need to talk about you sneaking out last night."

"Fine, whatever." Chris responded, quickly making his way out of the doorframe and out the door, rushing down the front steps and to the side of the house. He lit his cigarette, obviously distressed, which Barbas instantly caught onto.

"This seems to be the perfect time to give you a few _suggestions_." Barbas replied, nearing the teenager even more. "Let me place a few key thoughts in your head."

He paused briefly, before starting back up again, this time, Chris would be able to hear him, though he wouldn't be able to recognize his voice. "They always consider you second best, don't they?" Barbas started, noticing the change in Chris' expression. "It couldn't _possibly_ be you that the Source is after, you're not _Wyatt_, the golden child, the Twice-Blessed _brat._"

Chris took a drag from his cigarette, looking even more distressed, anger rising from inside him.

"And look at how tired they all looked." Barbas added, leaning against the wall next to Chris. "They've been fighting demon after demon, wearing themselves out, all because of _you_." Chris' eyes darted toward the ground, finger tapping the ash off the end of his cigarette. "This is your fault, Chris. All of it. You're causing your family all this stress, and they blame you for it."

"You saw the way they looked at you when you walked in." Barbas continued. "With those fake smiles beaming on their faces, hiding their _hate, _hiding how they all blame _you_ for forcing them to fight all the time like this."

Barbas watched as Chris slid down against the wall, running a hand over his face before he took another drag. He kneeled down next to the teenager, smiling.

"You've caused them so much pain, Chris, so _much."_

Chris grasped onto a clump of grass tightly, pulling hard at the pieces until they all started to rip out of the ground. He put his cigarette out and brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them tightly.

Barbas smiled, knowing that he got to the kid, and stood up, eyes still staring down at the witch. "That's enough for now, at least." He smiled, devilishly. "I'll let you dwell on that for a little."

With that, Barbas disappeared, leaving Chris to be truly alone, letting the boy's mind swirl around those thoughts, giving them time to all fully sink in.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all take the time to review, I love to hear what you all think!

I know, not all of you like OCs - I don't like them that much either - but Meg is needed and I can't tell you too much without spoiling any of the plot. I promise she won't be around super often though.

Well, I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I can, and I will start working on it soon.

Thanks again for reading, and I hope you all review!

:)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own thoughts and ideas.**

Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter! I appreciate it so much, and, hopefully, you'll all continue to keep it up.

Sorry this chapter is a few days late; I was pretty busy that last few days.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chris dragged the tip of his pen along the lined paper, drawing doodles along the side of his page while he listened slightly to what his teacher was droning on about. He was in English, and his teacher, Mr. Francis, was going on about a chapter in the latest book the class had started reading. Mr. Francis had a voice that seemed to have been made to dose off to. Chris was bored out of his mind listening to the man's monotonous lecture. He was also thankful that he had actually read this book a while back before it was even assigned for the class. At the moment, he felt like he barely had time to breathe, let alone read an entire novel. By some miracle, he was still doing well in all of his classes, given the shit he was dealing with, thanks to the Source.

Landon kept whispering his name from behind him, sometimes kicking the leg of his chair every few seconds to get his attention. He knew what Landon was going to whisper to him, because it was the same thing he always tended to inform him on. There was some sort of party and/or rave that night and there would be alcohol and/or weed at said event, and they should _definitely_ stop by for a bit of fun. Chris was in no mood to party that night, he was in no mood to deal with Landon either. His friend would get completely plastered, and Chris knew he couldn't deal with a drunk friend or even get drunk himself thanks to these demons that were always popping up. It was probably a good thing that he wasn't partying as much (he knew his brother was happy to see him not with Landon) but he didn't like what was taking up his time now instead.

"Chris."

Another hushed call and gentle kick to the back of his chair, causing the metal leg to slide a little along the carpet. Chris paused his hand and lifted his pen off of the paper slightly, staring down at his doodle in annoyance. The kick had caused him to drag the pen hard against the paper, leaving a line through his drawing. It was like Landon couldn't take a hint. If he hadn't answered his calls by now, then clearly, he did not want to hear what his friend had to tell him.

Chris turned his head to look back towards his grinning friend, figuring that the only way to get Landon to stop kicking at his chair was to confront him.

"Dude, there this rave -"

"Don't care." Chris replied swiftly, an answer that his friend had not expected. Landon went wide eyed, looking as if he'd been slapped. Chris turned his head back and focused his eyes back on the page he had filled with black doodles.

"Are you shitting me?" Landon asked, voice still hushed, but Chris could still catch onto the boy's complete disbelief.

Chris chose to not give a response back, hoping that that would be the end of the conversation. His hopes diminished swiftly when he felt yet another sudden kick against the leg of his chair.

"Chris."

Chris snapped his head back, this time expression creased, showing much more annoyance and anger in his narrowed jade eyes.

"I don't want to party, Landon." Chris hissed, making sure to keep his voice hushed enough that their teacher wouldn't stop his lecture and scold the two of them. Chris turned his head and checked just to make sure, before feeling another kick to the leg of his chair, this time with much more force than usual.

"You _never _want to party anymore, man." Landon informed him, anger radiating through his tone now as well. "You barely hang out with me anymore."

"Cause I've got better things to do with my life than drink and get high." Chris retorted, clearly showing his distaste for his old friend. It was true, there was a massive rift forming between the two of them, and Chris did not hang out with Landon as much as he used to. He'd been busy trying to fight off every demon that decided to attack him and his family practically non-stop. He didn't feel like coming out to party with his stupid friend after that.

Chris turned his head back to the front of the class, briefly checking to see if their teacher had noticed their conversation, thankful to see the man still lecturing away. Chris heard Landon mutter an aggregated, "Fine" before finally deciding to shut up and leave him alone.

Barbas leaned against the window pane, watching Chris from a few steps away, clearly amused by the conversation that had just ensued between the two young teenagers. He watched with a studying eye as Chris placed the tip of his pen back down on the paper and began to shade in one of the doodles he had drawn, focusing on that rater than the teacher.

Barbas clicked his tong mockingly as he pushed himself off the window and took a few steps toward the unaware teenager. "Oh, Chris." Barbas started, placing his hands on the desk and staring down at the brunette teenager. "What would that mother of yours think if she found out about all the illegal activities you participate in?"

The demon let his gray eyes wander back to the other teenager - Landon, as Barbas believed Chris had called him. The anger that had once been radiating off the boy was now gone, and Barbas could tell the kid had had his feelings hurt by dear old Chris.

His eyes wandered back onto the teenage witch, watching as the boy finished shading in the cartoon figure he had drawn and started to tap his pen against his notebook out of boredom. "You shouldn't be so mean to your friend, Chris." Barbas commented. "All the kid wants is some attention." Barbas suddenly paused and looked around the room, staring at the unaware students that sat around the room. An idea suddenly struck the devilish demon, and Barbas let his eyes travel back to Chris, a wide smirk stretched across his features. "You know what I think we should do to lighten up the mood?" He paused for emphasis, though he knew Chris could not hear him nor would the boy give him any answer. "We should give them a little _show_. Everyone looks like they're _dying_ for some entertainment, so why don't we give them all something to talk about?"

Barbas raised his hand and waved it over Chris, a gold light illuminating from his palm. His smile grew wider as he picked out a good fear - a rather _normal_ fear as well. This one involved no magical beings or evil brothers, it was just some measly little phobia. It would do him well here, though, and he couldn't wait to see the teenager freak out.

"This is going to be _good._" Barbas commented, his eyes scanning the classroom again with a grin before waving his hand and leaning back against the window, ready for the show to begin.

Chris continued to doodle on the page in his notebook, sucked into his own thoughts and worries as the class went on. A sudden cramped feeling fell over him, and Chris stopped drawing with his pen and looked up, finding himself in an empty room. The walls were made of gray, grainy bricks, and the floor was hard concrete. Chris' eyes widened, and he looked around the small room, suddenly starting to feel his heart beat faster. There was no door, just brick, and the room was incredibly small, and felt as if it was getting smaller. He hated small spaces, _hated_ them. Ever since Wyatt had trapped him in that closet when he was four for an hour, he had become terribly afraid of cramped, small, tiny spaces. Whenever he'd be thrown into an overcrowded room or had to go digging for something in his closest - hell, even when he went to the laundry room - his heart would race and he would freak out. He hated small spaces, like this gray brick room, and he had no idea how the hell he even got here. One second, he was in his English class, half-listening to his droning teacher go on about a classic, and now, he was in a room with _no exit._

_No exit!_

Oh God, this was bad, this was_ so_ bad. He could stand being in a small room when there was a door that was opened, reminding him that there was tons of room outside the walls that surrounded him, that he was not stuck, but this room had no open door, no _escape_. He felt his heartbeat start going wild, pumping harder than it ever had before. It hurt, and he tried to suck in oxygen, tried to get himself to calm down.

But the _walls. _The gray walls with no door or crack or any opening on them. Perfect, untouched, not even _chipped_,brick.

The walls were so close to him, so close. They trapped him inside this bare room without an exit, pressing in on him as if they would swallow him whole or crush him. His breathing keep speeding up along with his raging heartbeat, and he couldn't control himself.

He was scared, he was struggling to breath, panicking. His brain was screaming at him to find a _goddamn exit, _find a way out before he was_ swallowed _by thebrick and plaster!

He tried to get up from his seat, but he was frozen. He couldn't get himself to move, he couldn't get his legs to start kicking. All he could do was panic, breath madly, _scream! _He hated small spaces, hated them, hated them, _hated them_!

He needed to get out, it felt like the walls were pressing in closer, swallowing up parts of the ceiling and floor, sucking in closer to him. He pushed at his desk, wiggled in his chair, all while on the verge of having a full on panic attack. The desk wouldn't budge, and as hard as he wiggled his chair or pushed the desk, they stayed glued in place, as if they had been nailed down.

He pushed again at his desk, and suddenly, it budged. His chair moved with it, and before he knew it, he was on his side, laying on a carpeted floor, heart still pounding hard against his chest, lungs still trying to draw in as much oxygen as possible. He looked around, spotting no brick walls surrounding him. Instead, he found himself back in his classroom, the eyes of his fellow classmates all on him, staring at him with bemusement and curiosity.

His eyes flashed quickly to where he remembered the door to be, and when he spotted it open, a wave of relief rushed over his panicking body.

"Chris?"

The call caused Chris to turn his head away from the door and over to his teacher, who was kneeling right beside him, looking quite jarred and apprehensive. Mr. Francis' creased features snapped the young witch fully back into reality, and after blinking, Chris realized that he had just had that freak out in front of his entire class.

God, this was going to follow him _forever_.

"I ... uh ..." Chris stumbled with his words between gasps as he struggled to force his heart to beat at a normal rate, not exactly knowing what to say and cursing his body for still being so distressed.

"Are you alright?" His teacher asked. Mr. Francis looked more freaked out than he was, and Chris had been the one who was just trapped inside a freaking _doorless_ room. Well, had he really? He didn't know. One minute, he was sitting in class, the next, he was in that terrible gray brick room from hell, and now, he was back in class, this time on the floor, still breathing heavily and shaky.

Chris just gave a nod and ran a hand through his brown hair, still feeling and looking a bit distressed. He realized he was probably as pale as a ghost. This was the second time something like this had happened, and he had a feeling some sort of magical thing was behind this ... or maybe he was just going crazy, who knew? He'd never heard of a demon that could make him see things like that without even showing himself.

The slap of two pairs of rushed footsteps colliding with the linoleum floor out in the hallway caused Chris' head to snap back towards the door, catching onto a student - her name was Annabelle, he believed - and a plump woman who he remembered as the school nurse swiftly make their way into the room.

"I had a student go get the nurse." Mr. Francis explained to him, causing Chris to look back toward his teacher. Mr. Francis was stuffing Chris' notebook back into his backpack, implying that Chris was to go with the nurse.

The plump woman made her way over to Chris and his teacher, she kneeled down next to him and asked him if he could stand. Chris gave a nod and hoisted himself up, wobbling a little as he still felt a bit weak. His teacher held out his backpack, which the nurse took before Chris could even go to grab it, and she quickly ushered him out, making sure to be right beside him if he needed some support.

As they walked towards the nurse's office, Chris let all magical thoughts be pushed aside, and all he could think about was how_ embarrassing_ this was. How the hell was he ever going to live this down?

Unknown to Chris, the demon who was causing him so much shame was trailing right behind him, laughing hysterically with a wide smirk stretched across his devilish features.

"Oh Chris, you should have seen your face!" Barbas commented, speeding up his pace to walk closer to the boy, catching onto his pale complexion. "Looking a little white there, _buddy._"

Barbas let out another sickening laugh. "You know, even for a small little fear like that, it still refreshed me completely." He paused as they turned a corner, the tail of his black robe flowing with him as he made the sharp turn.

"You Halliwells have always been my favorite witches to feed on, and, thankfully, your generation doesn't seem to disappoint."

* * *

Leo Wyatt pulled into a spot in the parking lot of his children's school and swiftly exited the vehicle, locking it as he walked with a click of a button. Piper had called him at Magic School, informing him that the school had just called her and told her to come pick up Chris. Apparently, he had had some sort of panic attack in the middle of class. Piper would have been the one to pick him up, but she was stuck at work that afternoon. There was a big lunch party that she could not get away from, though she wished more than anything she could, so he had been called to pick their youngest up. It was rare that Chris ever needed to be picked up from school. It was also rare - _extremely_ rare - that Chris would have a panic attack. The last time he remembered the boy having a panic attack was when his brother had trapped him in that closet. Wyatt had been grounded for a month that time, and Chris had come out short of breath and shaking madly. His son was incredibly claustrophobic - small spaces _terrified_ Chris. That was one thing he had made the family swear not to tell anyone.

Leo pushed open the door to the school and walked swiftly to the Nurse's Office, instantly spotting his son sitting slumped in one of the stiff plastic chairs, head resting in his hands. Leo opened the door, causing Chris to look up, face shining his surprise as he stared at his father. Leo wasn't surprised that Chris wasn't expecting him. This was usually Piper's job, and Leo barely ever picked up his children from school. Piper was the one to worry and gush over a sick child - though he _did_ worry, he just gave the children their space when they were sick. He could tell both Wyatt and Chris didn't like to be gushed over any more.

The nurse quickly caught his attention with a call of his name, and she instantly started up on what had happened. He listened carefully, eyes wandering over to his son every few seconds. The kid looked drained from the ordeal, whatever the ordeal had been. The nurse couldn't exactly figure out what caused it, and by his son's expression, he knew the kid knew something, but was still bemused by it.

After a few more questions that led to no answers, Leo signed out his son. Chris was up and out the door quick, more than ready to leave. Leo sped up his pace to catch up to his son, calling the boy's name as he did so. He finally reached his son as they reached the exit of the school.

"Why are _you _here?" Chris asked as he pushed the door open, giving a glance toward his father. His father had a tendency to pry for answers, unlike his mother. His father was going to ask what had happened, he was going to say nothing, and then there would be some long fight about it until Chris walked away or caved in. He _rarely_ caved in.

"Your mother couldn't get away from work, so she called me to come get you." He explained to his son as the two reached the car. The way Chris' tone had sounded had hurt Leo a little, but this _was _usually Piper's job, not his. It was odd that he was doing this.

"Oh." Chris replied simply and shortly as he climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up. Leo followed his lead and did the same, his eyes glancing over to Chris before starting up the car.

They made their way out of the parking lot in silence, which surprised Chris. He had expected his nosy father to start right up with the questions and then, he would start up with the cryptic responses. It was pretty much procedure when anything ever happened to him. "_What just happened, Chris?" _A pause. Then he would come back with the usual response. _"Nothing, dad." _Then his dad: _"Something happened." _Then him: "_No it didn't."_ It would go on like this forever, his father always asking and he never telling.

"Chris?"

The call caused Chris to draw back from his thoughts and turn his gaze toward his father. The man glanced quickly at him, making sure that the kid was looking at him, before letting his eyes settle right back on the road.

"Did you hear me?" He asked as he flipped on his turn signal.

"No." Chris responded, sinking back into his chair and looking out the window. "What did you say?"

Leo rolled his eyes before repeating his question. "I asked: 'What happened?'"

This time, Chris rolled his eyes. Of course that was what he asked. His father was so nosy, and he should have guessed that the man couldn't wait to ask this question until later.

Chris crossed his arms and replied with the usual, "Nothing, dad."

"So, _nothing_ caused you to have a panic attack?" Leo retorted, quickly glancing over at his son.

Actually, now that Chris thought about it, to everyone who had witnessed it, that was the truth. Nothing had happened, and all of the sudden, he started freaking out. This was great, now he felt like even more of a freak around his _normal_ peers.

"Let's not talk about this right now." Chris replied, finding that to be the easiest and less annoying solution. If everyone could just leave him alone, he'd be content. He could figure out what was happening to him, he'd just have to spend a few hours flipping through the thick pages of the Book of Shadows while connecting what had happened in the kitchen to this. They had to be related somehow, he'd just needed some time to think it all through without the annoying questions and prying of either of his parents.

"Why do you insist on keeping secrets from us still, Chris?" Leo asked, getting a bit irked by his son's constant crypticness. All he wanted to do was help, but all Chris ever did was push him away.

"Not _everything_ that happens to me concerns you." Chris retorted, voice taking on a hint of anger. "It's my business, not yours."

"Chris," Leo started, gripping hard onto the steering wheel, clearly annoyed and exasperated with his stubborn youngest son. "When it involves you, it _is _my business. You're my _son_."

"So?" Chris retorted. "I just don't want to talk about it, dad. Why do we _always_ have to talk about everything?"

"Because this stuff is major, Chris." Leo replied as he turned the street corner. "First, what happened in the kitchen, and now - "

"The kitchen was _nothing, _dad." Chris cut his father off with the lie, eyes narrowed.

"Oh, just like how this is _nothing_?" Leo asked with a hint of sarcasm as he made a sharp right turn into the driveway of the manor. "Why do you insist on keeping everything to yourself? We can help, Chris."

Right as his father put the car into park, Chris unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed up his backpack. "I don't need _your_ help, dad." He declared, opening up the car door. "You want to know what happened today? Fine. I had a panic attack, apparently, and that's it! There's nothing more to it than that."

Chris jumped out of the car and slammed the metal door shut, Leo quick to follow behind him.

"What caused you to have it, Chris?" Leo asked as he followed the boy to the porch, "I want to know!"

Chris pulled out his set of keys and pushed one into the lock, clearly irritated. "Why do you freaking care so much?" He asked his father as he turned the key with a rushed turn of his wrist, jade eyes glancing back towards him. He saw the way his father had looked at him the day before. They all hated him for what he was doing to the family. The demon attacks were all his stupid fault. _Everything_ was his fault. He wished they'd all drop the caring act because he knew they blamed him for everything that was happened. If he hadn't vanquished the Seer, if he hadn't started having these stupid visions, then none of this would be happening right now!

"Because you're my son!" Leo declared, as if it was obvious, and Chris opened the door with a loud bang. Chris stepped into the house, then suddenly, two sets of black orbs materialized in the foyer. The two demons who shimmered in were wearing wide grins, fangs shining.

Chris looked back toward his dad, making sure the man was protected behind him, before turning his gaze back to the two demons, eyes narrowed and filled with rage.

"You two really picked the worst moment to shimmer in." Chris informed them, voice filled with anger and annoyance. He took a few steps forward, his father following. "I'm not in a good mood."

With that, Chris suddenly brought his hand out, sparks flying through them, and sent the crackling rays over to the two demons, both letting out screams of agonizing pain. Chris took a few steps closer, eyes still narrowed and sparks still flying out of his hands and into the demons.

"I'm having a _really_ bad day, today." He informed the pair of demons, bringing up his other hand and sending even more electricity into the demons. "I'd warn any of your friends to just leave me the _hell _alone today, if they don't want to feel the same amount of pain you two are feeling right now." Chris paused, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "Actually, I don't think you'll be able to."

The demons let out an even louder hiss of pain as Chris increased the strength of his attack, the two demons suddenly being consumed by flames and disappearing, along with their screams.

Chris turned back to his dad, the sparks that had once been flying through his hands now gone.

Leo was amazed. His son had learned to master that power so swiftly, it was almost shocking. He knew that the boy's irritation and anger at him had been partially behind the strength of that attack. He knew the kid was mad about his prying, but it was all out of concern. His son had had two separate, odd events happen to him within days of each other, and Leo had a hunch that it had to be related to magic. If the kid would just tell him what had happened he could probably give him the cause within seconds, right off the top of his head.

"I'm going upstairs." Chris declared, anger not as apparent as before, his voice and expression calmed. "Go back to Magic School."

"Chris," Leo called as his son started to walk away, causing the boy to turn his head back and stop in his tracks. "We're going to talk about what's going on with you sometime later, whether you like it or not."

"Sure." Chris replied with a disbelieving laugh before turning his head and starting his way up the stairs. "Like _that's_ really going to happen."

* * *

Chris sat up in the attic, a legal pad with notes and diagrams jotted all over it and the Book of Shadows open right beside him. The legal pad had been his way of trying to sort through his thoughts and find some link between what had happened in the kitchen and what had happened during school. So far, he had failed miserably at that. He felt like he was missing something obvious though, maybe trying to look too deep to find some crazy connection that didn't exist. Maybe it was just something simple, and he was trying to pull something complex out of it ...

Chris ran a hand through his hair and turned his attention back to the Book of Shadows. He flipped through the pages slowly, studying each passage with a careful skim before turning the page. He wished the demon - if it was a demon - would just show himself and help him sort through this hefty book a little easier. Since he didn't even know what the demon looked it, it made it incredibly hard to search when he still wasn't sure what the hell the demon was even doing to him. He wished he could just say he was going mad, because that was the easier solution. There wasn't much research involved in that.

Barbas was standing above Chris, looking over the boy's shoulder. He had a feeling the kid would take to looking through the Book to find some answers after a while. It wasn't like Barbas was going to _let _him find out who he was yet, though. He'd just have to make sure the kid_ skipped_ over his page - Well, that would be if the kid ever _found _it. He still hadn't found the quite obvious link between his two attacks. How the kid was missing that he was terrified of small spaces and terrified of his brother turning evil completely baffled Barbas. Maybe Chris just thought that connection was _too _obvious.

"Chris?" A voice called from the stairs, one Barbas instantly recognized. "Are you up here?"

Chris' head snapped up from the Book and he quickly hid the legal pad that was filled with his notes, not wanting any wandering eyes to catch onto the words and read them. He wanted to keep this to himself, and he really did not want to talk about his hallucinations with his mother. He could handle this on his own. This was a small problem, not like what had happened with his visions. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but he had needed help with that - as much as that irked him - and maybe he should have told his parents about it when the Seer came into play. That situation was different though, this was something very small, and he would just find whatever was causing it and take care of it. He could handle that.

Piper entered the attic, a small smile blooming as a greeting to her son. She noted the Book of Shadows resting near him, and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" She asked as she made her way toward her youngest.

"Just looking for the clan that attacked earlier." Chris lied, eyes falling onto the Book briefly before looking back up at his mother.

"Oh." Piper gave a nod and sat down beside Chris. "Your dad told me about that." A pause. "He also told me that you won't tell him what happened at school."

Chris let out an annoyed huff and his expression instantly creased with annoyance. "I told him what happened." He told his mother. "It was a panic attack, and that's it."

"But what _caused_ it?" Piper inquired, instantly receiving a glare from her son.

"I don't want to talk about it." Chris insisted, crossing his arms and staring down at the Book. His mother was cutting into his research time, and that really irked him. He pretty much had the entire Book to go through, and that was going to take time. He had gotten a third of the way through it, but it was a massive book.

"You know, you never want to tell us what's going on with you." Piper commented, voice hinted with a bit of irritation. "We want to help you, Chris, but you just make things so _hard_."

Barbas let out a small laugh behind them. He leaned in toward Chris and spoke up. "Did you here that, Chris? Look at how much stress you're causing your mother." Chris' eyes wandered over to Piper, and he studied his mother's features. Barbas smiled. "Look at those eyes, those _tired _eyes. You're the reason for that. You're causing your mother so much pain, so much stress, along with the rest of your family. You should feel so guilty, you should feel so _terrible_ about this. You can't stand to look at her anymore, can you, Chris?" He turned his head away quickly and rose from his seat, Barbas standing himself up straight. "You deserve to be alone, because look at what you're doing to this family, to your _mother_. You're causing them so much stress, and you can see that hate hiding in her gaze, you caught onto it. Don't deny it. Just walk away."

"Chris?" Piper called her son's name, the boy turning his head toward her, jade eyes studying her brown ones. She _was _tired, and there _was _hate. How could she not hate him for doing this to the family? He had been the center of all of the family's problems. He was like a magnet for demons.

"Sorry." Chris apologized. Piper's eyes went wide, obviously taken by surprise. Her son, _apologizing? _Something was definitely off there.

Before Piper could even call his name again, try to force him to sit down and talk with her, he had disappeared in a swirl of orbs, going off to God knows where again. That had been weird, _very_ weird. Once minute, they were on the verge of a fight, and the next, Chris was apologizing to her and orbing off. That was not usual Chris behavior.

What the hell was going of with her son?

* * *

Barbas rose from his bow and smiled at the Source wickedly. The female demon followed Barbas' lead and rose as well. She did not wear the old demon's devilish smirk though, and rolled her eyes when she spotted it.

"Barbas." The Source started, turning his gaze toward the demon. "How are things going with Chris?"

Barbas' smile grew, and he replied. "Perfect. I've used his _marvelous_ fears against him a few times, and also planted a few depressing thoughts in his head about him and his family. I think I'm causing a larger rift in their relationship, like you wanted, your Highness."

"As much as I hate to admit it," Altus started, her gaze falling onto Barbas, shining her distaste for the demon, "he's doing quite well with Chris. I can tell Chris is struggling when it comes to his family." Barbas raised an eyebrow at her, confused, causing her to add. "I've been checking up on you, just to make sure you've been doing good work with the witch." A pause. "In order for the next part of the plan to work, we need Chris disconnected enough from his family - especially Wyatt."

Altus turned her gaze towards the Source, a small, devilish smile growing on her features. "I've started to put my part of the plan in motion, my Lord." She informed him, "Though I can't really do much until Barbas is done with the little witch."

"I know." The Source nodded. "Soon enough though, you'll be able to. Right now, continue the work you're doing."

She gave a nod and replied. "Yes, your Highness."

"You two will be rewarded greatly for your work." The Source informed the two of them, Barbas smiling wide and excited. "If all goes according to plan, of course."

"Once I come into play, I doubt that anything will go wrong." Altus replied, smirking.

"Let me warn you, Altus." Barbas turned his gaze her way, still smiling. "Chris Halliwell is a fighter and a stubborn little brat. He's not going to be easy to deal with."

"Yeah?" She crossed her arms and titled her head, smile faltering. After a pause, a smirk grew on her face again. "Well, so am I."

* * *

Thank you all so much for reading and (hopefully) reviewing!

I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, like always. Bianca will be back next chapter, as well. :)

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and thanks again for reading and reviewing!

:)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own thoughts and ideas.**

Thank you all so much for the reviews for last chapter! I appreciate them more than I can express.

Sorry this chapter is a few days late again, but hopefully the length can make up for it.

Enjoy!

:)

* * *

"So," Chris started, keeping his voice hushed as he and Bianca strolled past a group of mingling demons, making sure to keep his head down and hood up to conceal his features. "How often do _you_ come down here?"

They turned a corner and entered a narrow alleyway, Bianca walking a few steps ahead of her companion. "The Demon Markets are filled with chances to get a good bounty. I meet a lot of clients here." She paused and slightly turned her head back. "Why do you ask?"

"'Cause," He started, "you seem to know your way around here pretty well." Chris slid his way past two staggering demons, shutting up briefly to not alert them of anything suspicious. Once they were gone, he continued. "I didn't even know you _knew_ Terry."

Bianca shrugged her shoulders and responded, "I know a lot of demons." They turned another corner into an empty, narrow street. "I needed a vanquishing potion for one of my targets, and Terry helped me out. You pay that guy the right amount of money, he'll do anything." A pause. "The guy's greedy."

Chris' lips curled up into a smile at that. Wasn't that the truth? He had only meet Terry about a month ago, and he could tell the demon was in it for himself. Give him money or rare potion ingredients and the guy will do anything for you. Good ol' Terry, he was a great ally.

"Why are we going to see him though?" Bianca asked, turning her head back to look at Chris. "Do you need a potion or something?" He had not told her why they had come down here in the first place. He had just appeared at her apartment and told her he needed her help. She had asked why he hadn't asked his brother for help, and Chris had replied that Wyatt wouldn't exactly be up for what he needed to do. Then he had grabbed her arm and orbed her down here, much to her surprise.

"I think he could help me find out about what the Source's big plan is." Chris told Bianca with a hushed tone, making sure that no one was around to hear him before he had spoken up.

"That plan is being kept pretty under wraps right now." Bianca informed the teenage witch. "I've been looking around for answers from my connections, and they've got nothing. No one knows why it isn't being spread more. The Source is usually one to brag about this stuff."

Chris' lips curled into a smile and they turned another corner, spotting Terry's potion store down the ally. "You've already been looking?" Chris' smile didn't falter, and Bianca turned her head back and caught onto it.

"Yeah." She answered simply, turning her head back before Chris could see the small smile on her own face. "Just trying to help out, that's all."

The two reached the store and made their way inside, thankful to see no other customers. Terry's store wasn't that well known, and he made sure to keep himself far away from the center of the Demon Markets, where most demons would be wandering around. You only came here if you knew who Terry was and wanted something from him specially. That narrowed down the number of customers greatly.

Chris took off his hood as they made their way to the counter before pressing his palm down hard against the cold metal of the table bell. After a few seconds wait, Terry emerged from the back, carrying a stack of hefty books. He placed them down near a cauldron with a thick thud before turning to see who was at the counter. His eyes went wide - clearly surprised - before making his way toward the front counter.

"Chris Halliwell." He started, his eyes snapping over toward the Phoenix witch next to the boy. Now _that_ was an odd sight.

"What are you doing with Bianca?" He asked, clearly baffled. "Didn't she kidnap you?"

Chris and Bianca both shared a look, Terry watching them both with bemusement, before Chris turned his gaze back to the demon.

"It's kind of a long story." He replied with a shrug.

Terry gave a nod, accepting that as answer enough. He imagined the story was probably rather long and rather confusing, given this witch's past record. Visions of another future, the Seer and the Source after him. A lot of confusing detail to sort through. It didn't concern Terry all that much any way.

"I come bearing gifts, Ter." Chris started up, sliding a hand in his pocket and pulling out a vial of crimson red blood. Terry's eyes widened and his lips curled up into a wide smile, fangs showing. "I thought you may be out of Gypsy Blood, so I brought you a generous refill."

Terry's hand instantly reached to grab it, but Chris puled it back quickly, a smirk on his face. "Not so fast, Terry." He spoke up, "I need some information from you first."

"Of course." Terry replied, leaning against the counter with his elbows. "What do you need to know?"

"The Source is bent on making my life a living hell." Chris started, Terry giving a nod, already knowing that. Every demon was lining up to go and attack the Halliwell family on the Source's behalf. They were always vanquished though.

"Since the Source hasn't killed me yet, and all the demons he sent are not attacking to kill, I'm pretty sure the Source has a bigger plan for me or my family." Chris told Terry. "I want to know what that plan is, and so here I am, dangling Gypsy Blood in front of you for everything you know." Chris shook the bottle, and Terry's eyes fell right back on to it.

"I don't know what the Source's big plan is." Terry confessed, his eyes flashing back onto Chris' jade orbs. "I'd assume your guess is right, but I haven't heard any rumors going on about it. The Source could be keeping it under wraps. I'm not that high up in the hierarchy, so I wouldn't be one to know."

"Dammit." Chris cursed. Terry was pretty much his only trustworthy demon connection - he was still skeptical of Meg - and now he was stuck. Chris let out a sigh and went to slide the vial back into his pocket. Terry, noticing this, suddenly started back up.

"Wait!" He held his hand out, motioning for Chris to halt and keep the vial of blood out. He wanted that blood _bad. _"I don't know, but that doesn't mean _no one_ does." Chris raised an eyebrow, confused but intrigued, waiting to hear what Terry would say next. "There's a bar a little ways from here, filled to the brim with upper-level demons." He turned to look toward Bianca. "You know of the place?" She gave a nod in response. "If you go there, eavesdrop a little, you may find what you're looking for. Someone there must know _something_."

Chris' lips curled into a smile and he handed Terry over the Gypsy Blood, the demon's eyes wide and shining his joy. "Thanks, Ter."

Terry gave a nod and rushed his way back over to his cauldron and his many potion books, quickly pulling one from the top of the stack and opening it. Chris and Bianca made their way out of Terry's, Chris pulling his hood back up, before he opened his mouth.

"Lead the way." He told her, clearly lost on how to get there.

"Are you out of your mind?" Bianca exclaimed, "That place is _crawling_ with upper-level demons. Do you _want_ to get yourself killed, or are you just plain crazy?"

"Definitely the later." Chris replied, much to Bianca's annoyance. "Now, let's go."

"No way." Bianca shook her head. "Your parents already don't like me, and I'm not going to be the one to tell them their son got killed by a bunch of upper-level demons in a demon bar because _I _took him there."

Chris stared at her for a moment, before giving shrug. "Fine." A pause. "Guess I'm just going by myself then." Chris turned and started his down the alley, Bianca quickly chasing after him and grabbing onto his arm to stop him.

"Fine, I'll go with you." She told him, reluctantly giving in. If she went at least she could protect him. This was a bad idea from the start though, and she really wished Chris would stop acting so reckless sometimes. Walking yourself into a demon bar when you were a Halliwell alone was suicide, plain and simple. _Stupid idiot_.

She caught onto the small smile that was curled on her friend's lips. Chris started to move again, but Bianca tugged on his arm yet again. "You're going the wrong way, idiot."

"Oh." Chris gave a shrug and turned around. "Lead the way." He motioned for her to start moving, and with an exasperated sigh, she did. She led him through the narrow alleyways, making sure to stand in front of him and protect him from any wandering eyes. She was not going to let any of these demons catch a glimpse of him, and if they did and went to attack, she'd vanquish them all as painfully as possible. She would make sure to keep the kid alive.

When they reached the bar, Bianca stopped and Chris stared at the establishment. It wasn't flashy or anything like Chris had expected. It looked pretty drab from the outside, just like the rest of the Demon Markets.

"Wow." Chris exclaimed. "This is not what I was expecting."

"It looks better on the inside." She told him, turning her head back slightly to catch a glimpse of him. She checked to make sure his hood was hiding his face well enough before starting to lead the way inside. "This is probably one of the dumbest things I've ever done." She commented, keeping her voice low so only Chris could catch on.

"Nah." Chris replied with a small smile, causing Bianca to roll her eyes.

She opened the heavy door and made her way inside, Chris following right behind her. The bar was bustling with demons and conversation, some laughs popping up every now and then. Bianca had been right, it did look much better on the inside. It was all black and red, neon signs hanging on many of the walls, advertising brands of alcohol Chris had never even heard of.

"Come on." Bianca grabbed his hand and led him across the room, making sure to keep from bumping into any demons. If you thought a demon was bad sober, then you've never seen them _drunk_. Demons had bad tempers, but with alcohol in the mix, they were like ticking time bombs. One false move or one foul comment and they'd just explode. Needless to say, there were a lot of bar fights. She hoped in this case they would not start up because someone found out who the hooded kid behind her was.

She took a seat at one of the tables, Chris taking the stool right beside her. She figured it was close enough to the door to make an escape if needed and close enough to the crowds of demons that they could eavesdrop.

"Can I get you two anything?"

The voice caused Bianca to almost jump, her eyes quickly flashing to the female demon who stood to her right. She made sure to keep her cool. She wasn't going to be the one to blow their cover. Chris seemed to be _much_ calmer than she was. He was in danger, could be killed if they weren't careful, but he was as calm as ever. He _was_ a teenager though, and teenagers always seemed to believe they were invincible. Chris more than anyone should know that he was definitely not, but his recklessness tended to prove otherwise.

"I'll just have a beer. Cheapest brand you've got." Bianca told the demon. She caught onto Chris opening his mouth from the corner of her eye and quickly cut in. "He'll have nothing." A pause. "He's trying to stay sober."

The demon looked from Bianca to Chris before giving a nod and walking off towards the bar.

"Thanks, _mom_." Chris replied with annoyance. He had wanted to try some weird demon brand of whiskey. He wondered if the stuff was any stronger than what they had up above. He wasn't much for drinking anymore, but when an opportunity like this arose, how could he resist? There's no drinking age down in the Underworld, (even though _that_ had never stopped him before).

"This stuff is strong, Chris." She warned him, resting her elbows on the table. "And, besides, you're here to get information, not to get drunk."

"Why can't I do both?" He grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"Just shut up and start listening." Bianca instructed him. The demon bartender returned with her beer, placing down on the table, and Bianca gave a nod as thanks. When the demon was gone, she added. "I want to get you out of here was fast as I can."

"We'll be fine." Chris replied, Bianca rolling her eyes as a response before taking a swig of her beer. Chris suddenly caught onto the mention of his name from somewhere behind him, the conversation instantly grabbing his attention.

He payed close attention to the demon talking, but the conversation seemed to be going nowhere fast. All he spoke of was his immense hate for the Halliwell's, how he planned to be the next demon to go after the family, and blah blah blah. Nothing Chris needed to really know. His name was brought up constantly around the bar, but he barely heard anything that helped. After ten minutes of hearing that about half of the demons in the bar hated his guts, and that all of them wanted a piece of the Halliwell family, he started to get a feeling that they were going to find out nothing about the Source's plan.

Chris let out an irritated sigh and turned his gaze back toward Bianca, watching as she took a swig of her beer, dark eyes scanning the room, trying to scout out any trouble before it started.

"These demons aren't saying shit about the Source's plan." Chris stated, keeping his voice hushed so hopefully only Bianca would hear him. Her eyes landed on him and she placed her beer bottle down on the table, shrugging her shoulders as she did so.

"Maybe they don't know anything." She suggested, leaning in closer toward Chris. "I've been trying to find information on this stuff for days now, and my connections have come up with nothing. Maybe he's keeping this plan under wraps."

"Sure, but someone _has_ to know, right?" Chris asked, looking around the bar, trying to find some demon that looked like they knew something. "Demons like to brag, why aren't they bragging about this?"

A sudden growl from behind caught both Bianca and Chris by surprise. The two swiftly turned their heads to find two demons - one bulky and tall, the other short and fanged - staring down one another, eyes narrowed. Bianca knew that this was definitely not a good sign. Thankfully, the fight was not about Chris, but still, a demon bar fight could get viscous. Her eyes flashed to Chris, who seemed equally enthralled and amused by the small scuffle. She had to get him out of here, before things got bad.

Another growl escaped the taller demon's lungs, and his fist was suddenly raised and coiled tight, swinging wildly, ready to start off with the first punch. The shorter demon ducked and slid out of the way, causing the demon's fist to collide right into Chris' hooded face. Bianca watched, heart pounding madly, as Chris fell to the ground with his stool. After a few seconds of recovery, Chris turned his head, hood down and looked up towards the demon, jade eyes clearly in view.

"Shit." Bianca cursed, staring down at Chris, eyes wide. Oh God, this was not good, so _not _good.

The tall demon stared down, eyes shining his surprise, before his lips curled up into a smile. "The Halliwell boy." All conversations stopped and all heads snapped in their directions, all landing on the teenage witch that sat before them. "Just my luck. I was planning to come after you later today, but seems you saved me the hunt."

Chris quickly rose to his feet, Bianca joining him right by his side, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the room, noticing as all of the demons started their way toward them, surrounding them quickly.

"We have to get out of here." Bianca exclaimed as her head snapped to the door. It was blocked, of course, by a group of horned, black eyed demons.

"Couldn't agree with you more." Chris replied, narrowing his eyes at the demons surrounding them. He suddenly flung his hands out, causing five or sex of the demons to fly back into the group behind them, the dozen of them falling to the floor in a tangled pile.

Bianca raised her hands and two energy balls formed in her palms. She instantly shot them out, aiming from the group of demons that crowded the door. After the balls collided with two horned demons, the whole bar went into action. Energy balls and flames flew around left and right, along with flying beer bottles and curled fists.

Chris and Bianca continued sending out attacks wildly and swiftly, trying to fight their way to the door, all while dodging the many attacks and objects sent their way. Chris used his telekinesis to push as many demons as he could aside to make a path for them while Bianca continued throwing out energy balls at the demons that surrounded them. As they pushed their way forward, Bianca kept cursing herself for bringing Chris in here. She knew something like this would happen. This had been a terrible idea, and she knew she shouldn't have given in to it.

Chris flung his hands out, pushing a massive group of demons to the side, allowing the door to be clearly in view. He quickly grabbed Bianca's arm and made a dash for it, making sure to keep alert to his surroundings as well as keeping his free hand ready to send out another attack if needed.

He used his shoulder to push the door open, releasing Bianca's hand as they both began to run for it, the many demons that had been drinking in the bar following swiftly behind them. Chris turned his head back and let out a curse as he spotted the crowd of demons behind them. He grabbed Bianca's arm and forced her to make a sharp left turn into another alleyway.

"We've got to lose them." Chris declared, turning his head again to check to see if the demons were still following them. When he spotted the group, he turned his head back. He didn't want to just orb out, because then they would just follow his orb trail and that would not be good.

Bianca and Chris quickly maneuvered their way around obstacles, pushing past passerby demons and making swift, sharp turns, rushing their way through the alleyways of the Demon Markets. Chris' heart was pounding like crazy, adrenaline rushing throw his veins. There were about thirty or forty demons on their tail. He had taken out a whole clan before, but that had been only fifteen or so demons. This was too much for him to handle, even with Bianca fighting by his side.

Chris slid on his heels and grabbed Bianca's arm as he pulled her into an alleyway, head twisting back to check on the demons behind them. He suddenly felt his body collide with another, causing his head to turn swiftly back in front of him as he fell. When he looked to see what or _who _he bumped into, his eyes widened.

"Wow, Halliwell." Meg exclaimed as the two stumbled to their feet, smirk radiating off her features. "Fancy seeing you here."

Bianca raised an eyebrow, instantly baffled. Her gaze shifted from the demon to Chris, then back again. How the hell did Chris know _her_?

"Meg." Chris exclaimed, clearly surprised to see the female demon.

"Who's this?" Meg asked, pointing a stiff finger at Bianca.

Chris suddenly remembered the hordes of demons that were chasing after him and Bianca and turned his head back, checking on the pack.

"I'd love to stop and give you two proper introductions and all," Chris started, turning his head back swiftly, "but, we've got a whole bar of demons chasing after us, so we _have_ to move."

Chris turned his head back quickly and grabbed onto Bianca's arm as he started to run again, Bianca speeding up her footsteps to keep pace with him. Meg was right beside the two, keeping up pace while wearing an amused smirk.

"Jeez, Chris," She started, turning her head back to look toward the crowd of demons tailing them. "You really seem to find your way into trouble, don't you?"

Chris turned his head and looked Meg's way, a smug smile on his face. "What can I say?" He replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "I live for the thrill."

Meg turned her head to look ahead, scanning their surroundings, before speaking up. "Take the next left. I'll shimmer us out quick. They won't be able to follow my trail by the time they reach the turn."

Chris gave a nod and followed her instructions, making the swift left turn with Bianca, clasping her hand tightly. Meg grabbed onto Chris' arm and the three disappeared quickly. They landed in an empty alleyway of San Francisco, stumbling a few steps before regaining their balance.

"Thanks." Chris spoke up, looking toward Meg as he leaned against the brick wall and slid down, panting somewhat from his long, adrenaline filled run from the massive group of demons.

"No problem." Meg replied, waving it off with a flick of her wrist.

Chris' eyes fell onto Bianca, noticing the Phoenix's attention was on Meg, her dark eyes carefully studying the female demon with suspicion.

"Oh." Chris started, Bianca's gaze flashing his way, "Bianca, this is Meg. Meg, Bianca." He motioned between them with his hand, indicating who was who, before watching as the two women stared at each other, Meg wearing a smirk.

"Nice to meet you, Bianca." Meg started, raising a hand as a greeting.

Bianca gave a smile - one Chris could instantly tell was faked to some degree - and replied, "Nice to meet you too." She paused, her dark brown eyes falling onto Chris before starting back up. "How do you two know each other?"

"Well," Chris started as he pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, "she kind of saved my ass from a pair of demons." Chris placed a stick in his mouth and flicked the thumbwheel of his lighter, producing a flame and connecting it with the white, tobacco filled paper.

"One had broken a deal with me, and I had come to take care of him, but Chris ended up beating me to the punch." Meg added as she crossed her arms, smiling.

Bianca nodded in reply, still staring at Meg with suspicion. She seemed nice enough, but there was something she just didn't like about her - well, other than that she was a _demon._ That was reason number one not to trust the woman. Though Bianca herself had many demon companions, she never fully trusted them and always made sure to keep a certain amount of distance between them. They could turn on her any minute, she understood that, she had learned from experience. She hoped Chris was smart enough to know that.

"I've got to get going." Meg declared, her eyes falling down to Chris, watching as the teenager took a drag from his cigarette. "Call me if you ever need me." She reminded Chris. "Still got that necklace I gave you?"

Chris let the cigarette droop between his lips as he dug into his pocket in search for the necklace. When he felt the metal charm brush against his skin, he pulled it out and held it up for her.

She smiled. "Good." She paused, watching as Chris stuffed the necklace back into his pocket. "Well, bye Chris. Bye Bianca." She shimmered out shortly after her goodbye.

Bianca looked down toward Chris, watching as he took a drag form his cigarette, completely calm and at ease.

"You trust that demon bitch?" Bianca asked, crossing her arms and staring down at her friend with a curious glare.

Chris looked up her way and shrugged his shoulders, taking a drag from his cigarette. "Not completely, no. But she has saved my ass two times now." He paused and studied Bianca's expression. She clearly didn't like the demon, not one bit. "She's neutral." Chris started, trying to defend Meg. "If I can trust Terry then I can trust her, right?"

"You shouldn't fully trust Terry either." Bianca reminded him, arms crossed.

Chris rolled his eyes and rose from his seat, looking clearly annoyed. "I know, Bianca. I'm not stupid. I don't fully trust her, she's still a demon. But she hasn't given me any reason not to trust her at all."

"She's a demon -"

"A _neutral _demon." Chris cut in, reminding the Phoenix. "You're neutral too, should I not trust you?"

Bianca narrowed her eyes and stared a Chris with any obviously irritated glare. "It's different with me Chris, you know that."

"Fine." Chris replied, tossing his cigarette aside and stomping it out with the sole of his shoe. "Just know, I'm not an idiot, Bianca. I keep my guard up around demons, and I think I have good enough judgement to know who I should trust or not."

Bianca let out a sigh and uncrossed her arms. "Just be careful, then. Alright Chris?"

"Of course." He replied. "I'm always careful."

With that last remark, Chris orbed away in a swirl of blue and white, leaving Bianca alone in the empty alleyway.

She let out a sigh, and commented aloud, "No, you're not, Chris.

* * *

Wyatt tapped his pencil rhythmically against his desk, staring down at the Book of Shadows beside him and the notebook he had filled with notes next to him. He had told his mother and aunts to take a break from demon hunting and offered to take care of some of the work, but Wyatt just could not pay attention. While searching the Book for the clan that had attacked them earlier in the day, he had felt this sudden uneasiness fall over him. Following that feeling swiftly and quickly like a punch, he had suddenly felt a pain in his face. He knew it had to be Chris, instantly sensing his brother was in some sort of danger or distress. He had tried to locate the younger boy, but to no avail. Chris was blocking him again, like always. He wondered how much energy it took out of the kid to block him like this all the time. It was a hard thing to keep up, and Wyatt wasn't even that good at it - though he really didn't see any need to block his younger brother. Chris had really worked at mastering that skill. Their bond's strength was increasing though, so he wondered how much longer Chris would be able to block him.

Since that feeling had fallen over Wyatt, he had been distracted from working, instead fully concentrated on worrying. What the hell was his brother up to? And where the hell was the kid? He was supposed to be grounded, like him, but no, the kid had snuck out, _again_. He hadn't seen his younger brother since yesterday morning, before that whole fiasco at school. He still had not gotten to ask his brother what had happened. The word of the event spread around the school like wildfire, and by lunch, everyone had heard about it, including him. It didn't make sense. Why had his brother just freaked out like that? He wanted to get to the bottom of it, and the only way to do that was to talk to Chris himself.

The doorknob to his room started jiggling and Wyatt turned his gaze toward the sound, his fingers stopping the constant tapping of his pencil. He watched - almost relieved - as his younger brother slid into the room, head down, brunette hair covering his eyes from view.

"Hey, Wy." Chris started, closing the door behind him before looking up, displaying his swollen and bruising skin near his eye. His jade eye was practically swollen shut, the sight causing Wyatt to instantly drop his pencil and sit up straight, eyes wide. "You think you could do me a favor?"

"What the hell happened?" Wyatt exclaimed, completely baffled, as Chris made his way over to him and plopped down onto his bed. "I mean, I sensed you were hurt, but I was expecting it was from a demon." He paused, studying the swollen skin again. "Still, though. _Damn._"

Chris let out a snort. It was true, this wasn't the usual injury he would return with after getting into a scuffle with a demon, but, oddly enough, it _was_ from a demon.

"It's that bad, huh?" Chris asked. He had not had time to fully asses the damage to his face since the blow, but his vision had definitely been affected and the forming bruise pulsated with pain frequently.

"Your eye's practically swollen shut." Wyatt replied.

"Shit." Chris replied, bring a hand carefully up to his eye and gently touching the reddened, puffy skin. He looked back at his brother, a small smile forming on his lips. "And this is where you come in with that favor: I need you to heal me, before mom sees and blows me to pieces."

"You want me to heal a non-magical injury just so mom and dad don't find out?" Wyatt asked, raising any eyebrow at his brother. "You know that's some serious personal gain, right?"

Chris let out a sigh and brought his legs up onto the bed, adjusting his potion so that he was sitting crisscross. He had a feeling Wyatt was going to reject his offer unless he actually told him the truth, given it just looked like he had gotten himself into a fight with someone seriously strong. That demon had surprised him with that punch. It was crazy powerful and really _hurt. _Who knew that some demons had a good right hook?

"What if I told you a demon punched me in the face." Chris started, hesitant to say it. Wyatt had raised an eyebrow at this, looking clearly amused, but disbelieving. "Come on, Wy." Chris added. "Do you really think someone our age could get me _this_ good?" He pointed to his eye with one stiff finger.

Wyatt studied the bruise again, taking in the massive swelling. Chris had a point, no one their age had a fist _that _big. If it was true then, what the _hell_ had his brother been doing that day?

"Why'd a demon punch you?" Wyatt asked, starting to lose his skepticism of Chris' story as he stared at his brother's swollen eye. He also felt a great need to punch the demon who did this to his brother a couple of times as well. It looked painful, and he was very protective of his younger brother, especially when it came to demons. There weren't allowed to mess with him.

"Long story." Chris replied with a simple shrug.

"I've got time." Wyatt snapped back quickly, wearing a smug smile.

Chris let out a sigh and rested his head in his hand. "Why do you always have to bug me so much? Can't you just take 'it's a long story' as an answer?" He paused and rubbed at his temples, feeling a headache coming on from the pain in his face. "Why are you always so concerned about _everything_?"

"Cause," Wyatt started with shrug of his shoulders, tone displaying how obvious he believed the answer to be, "you're my younger brother, it's my _job_ to be concerned. Older brothers are just like that."

"You've been using that excuse for years." Chris replied, looking back up at his brother.

"Then you should already know that I'm going to say it." Wyatt pointed out as he pushed his swivel chair along the carpet and got closer to his bed. Chris sat up straight and looked at him. "I'll heal your face." Chris gave a small smile at that, "Just tell my why you let a demon get close enough to you that they could land a punch on you."

"Well," Chris started as Wyatt brought his hand up to his face, the gold light illuminating from his palm within seconds, "the punch wasn't directed toward me. He was trying to punch someone else, the guy dodged, and then there I was, right behind the guy. I was just collateral damage."

Wyatt had raised an eyebrow at that.

"Who was he trying to punch?"

"Um ..." Chris started, voice trailing off for a second, hesitant to say the truth. "Another demon. It was kind of like a bar fight."

"Wait." Wyatt spoke up, eyes wide, clearly baffled by his brother's reply. "What the hell were you doing down there, Chris?"

"Trying to find out what the Source's big plan is." Chris responded as Wyatt brought his hand away, done healing his swollen eye. Chris touched the skin and thankfully felt no pain. "I was eavesdropping on some upper-level demons." He would fail to mention that it had been a bar filled to the brim with upper-level demons. Wyatt would surely snap at him for that, and he didn't need to here a lecture from his brother. He had his parents for that.

"_Alone_?" Wyatt asked. When Chris gave a reluctant nod, he started right back up. "Why the _hell_ didn't you just get me to come with you? You know not to go alone!"

"Well, I'm not a kid anymore, Wy. I think I can handle it without help." Chris shot back in response. He hadn't gone alone, and a part of him wanted to tell Wyatt that he had gone with Bianca, but that wouldn't go over well with him either. Wyatt - along with the rest of the family - were not Bianca's biggest fans. She was an assassin witch, and she did some pretty bad things. Chris didn't mind it, but he knew his family would.

"Besides," Chris added, "I didn't expect to get into a fight."

Wyatt, oddly enough, gave a simple nod in reply, surprising Chris somewhat. He had expected some more of a fight after that, but Wyatt was letting it go, thankfully. They sat for a minute, Wyatt leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, before the elder boy spoke up.

"So," he started, Chris' jade eyes snapping his way, "did you find anything out?"

"No." Chris answered with a shake of his head. "Whatever it is, the Source is seriously keeping it under wraps."

"You got that right, _Chris_." Barbas spoke up from his spot against the wall where he'd been watching the two boys talk for some time now. Of course, they were both completely unaware of his presence, and that suited Barbas just fine. He had decided to check up on his _dear old friend_ Chris and see how he was doing. Clearly not too well, given the swelling that had once covered a portion of his face.

"You think that panic attack in school has anything to do with it?" Wyatt asked. His brother seemed to be content with talking for now, so he took this as a good time to ask about what happened. Chris looked at him, surprised he brought it up.

"I don't know." Chris replied with a shrug. "Maybe." He paused, thinking back to that small, cramped brick room. He held back a shudder. "It was just _weird_."

"Why'd you freak out like that anyway?" Wyatt asked, hoping that his brother would actually answer him this time. "The only time I ever saw you have a panic attack was cause of your claustrophobia."

"Why is it your business?" Chris shot back, glare hardened.

"I won't tell mom and dad, alright." Wyatt told his brother. "I promise."

Chris let out a snort at that. "Oh, yeah. Like you _actually _did that the last time you promised me something."

"That was different, Chris!" Wyatt exclaimed. "They needed to know, and mom gave me that death glare. We had no idea where you were. You had been kidnaped by the freaking _Seer_."

Barbas had perked up as he noticed the fight begin, making his way over to the younger brother, devilish smirk beaming. "Aw." Barbas started in a mocking tone. "And I thought you two were finally starting to get along again." A pause. "What a shame." An idea suddenly struck the demon. "Let's just make sure this rift between you two is as big as possible, shall we?"

With that, Barbas leaned down and started whispering to Chris.

"They didn't need to know!" Chris shot back, glare hard and filled with anger as he rose from his seat. "I could have handled everything on my own! I don't need them or you, you stupid Twice-Blessed brat! You're just the super powerful golden child, right? You can't do _anything_ wrong in their eyes, can you? But me, I'm just the not-so-powerful, useless other kid! I wasn't prophesied! I was just suddenly there. You always overshadowed me, even before I was freaking born! You were destined to be the better child! You know what, Wyatt? I hate you, I hate you _so fucking much._ So why don't you just leave me the hell alone!"

Wyatt stared up at his brother, clearly shocked by the harsh words that had escaped his lips. He didn't even know where half of that came from, but still, every word had hurt. Chris gave him one last hard look before storming out of the room, slamming his bedroom door open, the doorknob leaving a dent in his wall. He was baffled and hurt, completely clueless as to what made his brother just start up on him like that. Had he really meant all that he said, though?

Barbas was laughing, laughing so hard that his chest hurt. That devilish smile never faded, and staring at the older boy's reaction to what he had told Chris to say had filled him with even more amusement. He forced himself to calm down, to stop his excessive laughing, and straighten up.

"Oh yeah," Barbas commented, eyes averting from Wyatt over to the door Chris had slammed open. He smirked. "I think he's finally ready."

* * *

Thanks for reading and I hope you all review!

I hope you liked the chapter, and I will try to update again as soon as possible.

Until then, thanks again for reading and hopefully reviewing! Reviews get me typing out these chapters faster

:)


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, we all get this by now, I hope :) **

Thank you all so much for the reviews for last chapter! I'm glad to hear you all are enjoying it! :)

Sorry this is a few days late again. I've been kind of busy lately.

Enjoy!

:)

* * *

Chris sat at the breakfast table, picking at a piece of toast, as he sent a glare his older brother's way. Wyatt matched his glare, his brown eyes hard and narrowed as he stared right back at him. Ever since the day before, they both had refused to talk to each other. Chris didn't know what came over him when he screamed all those things at Wyatt, but he knew a part of him had meant it. He'd always felt that way sometimes, he'd just never vocalized it before. Wyatt _did_ overshadow him. He _was_ the golden child. Chris wasn't prophesied like him - hell, his parents weren't even together when his mother was pregnant with him - he was just the Twice-Blessed's less powerful brother.

He took a bite of his toast, his jade eyes still narrowed at his brother. Damn him. Damn his stupid inferiority complex. He hated his brother sometimes because of everything, he really did. Well, maybe he didn't _hate_ the older boy, he just disliked him. He didn't hate his brother, not really, he just hated what he was: Twice-Blessed.

A plate of scrambled eggs was placed down in front of Chris, his eyes snapping away from his brother and looking up to catch his mother standing above him. He quickly grabbed up his fork and began to eat, eyes flashing back to Wyatt seconds after, the older boy still glaring at him.

Piper instantly caught onto the looks her sons had been giving each other, completely baffled as to what was causing the two to glare each other down like that. She looked over to her husband, who sat at the table between Wyatt and Chris, sipping a cup of coffee. He looked between his two children, noticing the palpable tension that seemed to lie between them, before looking back to his wife and giving her a shrug. He clearly didn't know what was going on either.

"Alright." Piper started up, crossing her arms and looking from Wyatt to Chris. "What's going on between you two?"

The two boys looked up toward their mother, Chris letting his fork hang limply in his hand for a second. He swiftly went back to eating, gaze drifting away, deciding not to give his mother an answer. Why was it any of her business anyway?

Wyatt's eyes averted from his mother and landed right back on his brother, watching as the younger boy took bites of his eggs. His eyes shot back up to Piper, deciding that he would be the one to vocalize the problem.

"Chris is just being a major _asshole_ right now." Wyatt informed her, voice tinged with anger. His eyes landed back on Chris, glare hard. What Chris had said yesterday was just plain mean. He still was pretty clueless on where it all had come from, but it was harsh. What had he done to deserve any of that? All he ever did was try to be a good brother, try to protect Chris and keep him safe.

Chris looked up from his food and dropped his fork, ready for a fight. "I'm not being an asshole, Wyatt." He replied, eyes narrowed. "What I said was the truth."

"Yeah, Chris." Wyatt agreed, "You're right. I am Twice-Blessed and I_ am_ more powerful than you." The two locked eyes, expression both equally filled with rage. "Just get over it."

Chris huffed and hardened his glare. "See? This is exactly what I was talking about." He paused and leaned in closer to his brother. "You are so _freaking_ conceded. That Twice-Blessed title really went to your head."

"Wow." Wyatt replied, leaning back and crossing his arms. "You've got a serious inferiority complex with me, don't you?" Chris' glare hardened at that. "I'm stronger than you. Big Deal. Get over it already."

"And _I'm_ the one who's being an asshole?" Chris retorted.

"Alright!" Piper cut in, hands raised along with her voice. She caught onto Wyatt opening his mouth, about to speak up, but Piper rose a finger and pointed at him, her eyes narrowed. "Don't even _start_." She sent the warning with one of her famous looks, her oldest son instantly backing off at the sight. "I do not want to hear you two bicker this early in the morning. Whatever it is you are fighting about, you _both_ need to get over it."

Piper turned on her heels and walked off toward the stove, her two sons turning their gaze back toward one another, eyes narrowed.

"_Asshole_." Wyatt commented, using their bond to continue the fight.

"_Conceded Twice-Blessed _bastard_." _Chris replied as he crossed his arms. _"You think you're so better than me, but just because you're mom and dad's golden child it doesn't give you the right to act like arrogant prick. You're no better than any of us." _

"_Well," _Wyatt started, fuming with anger, trying to come up with a good comeback - Chris had always been the better one when it came to this_, "at least I was _wanted_._" He paused, watching as his brother's gaze hardened, the younger boy's temper clearly rising along with his own._"Mom and dad weren't even _together _when they had you. You weren't supposed to happen. You were just a _mistake!"

Chris' eyes went wide at this, clearly taken back by his brother's words. A _mistake_? How could his brother even say that to him? That was extremely low, and Chris' temper was now boiling, mixed feelings of anger and hurt flowing through his veins. He rose from his seat, the screeching of his chair alerting both Leo and Piper, the two letting their eyes fall onto their youngest son.

"Fuck you, Wyatt." Chris hissed in reply, his eyes narrowed again, hiding his hurt. It's not like he hadn't wondered any of what Wyatt said before, but hearing his brother say it to him just hurt ten times worse than even contemplating it.

"I'm out of here." Chris informed them all before quickly starting his way out of the kitchen.

"Oh, no you are not, mister!" Piper started, halting everything she was doing and quickly rushing to catch up with her son, eyes narrowed and ready for a fight. "You do _not_ use that language in this house and you do not get to just storm out after that outburst!" Her son sped up his pace, clearly showing her that he had no intent on even acknowledging her or listening to her orders. "Christopher Perry Halliwell!" She started, speeding up her pace. "You stop right now or I swear I'll blow your ass to straight to another dimension, orbs and all."

Chris reached the door, still content with ignoring her calls, and quickly swung the door open. He suddenly bumped into his Aunt Paige, who he hadn't even noticed was there. He sent the woman a hard glare before rushing off, making his way down the driveway and onto the sidewalk.

Piper reached the door shortly after, both she and Paige staring at the boy, watching as he walked off, one enraged while the other just plain confused.

"What's up with him?" She asked, looking back towards her sister as Chris was finally out of sight, catching onto the anger that flared in her older sister's eyes.

"I don't know, but I'm definitely going to find out." Piper declared, swiftly turning on her heels and charging back into the kitchen. Paige followed quickly behind her, curious to see what was going on. Piper's hard gaze locked onto Wyatt as she entered the room, her hands placed on her hips as she stood in front of the table.

"What the _hell_ just happened, Wyatt!" Piper asked, voice stern and raised.

All eyes were on him now, each gaze demanding an answer from him. "Um." Wyatt started, "We were fighting telepathically, using our bond-"

"Oh, of course!" Piper cut in, raising her hands in disbelief. "I tell you two to stop fighting the normal way, so you _have_ to start fighting the magical way."

"Well, Piper," Paige started, "it could have been worse. They could have been fighting with their active powers." Piper turned to look her way, clearly indicating that her comment was not helping in any way. "What?" Paige rose her hands and shrugged. "They could have been blowing holes in your walls and ruined your kitchen. _That_ would really send you on a killing spree." Piper's glare didn't let up as she caught onto Paige's smug smile, and the younger sister instantly shut up and let her smile flatten.

Piper turned her gaze back to her son. "What did you say to him?" Piper demanded, giving her son the famous death glare that she had mastered, knowing her oldest would succumb instantly.

"I kind of told him he was a mistake." Wyatt confessed, voice soft and filled with guilt. He _may_ have taken things a little too far there, he could admit that.

"_What!"_ Piper exclaimed, eyes wide, shining her outrage. Leo's expression was rather similar to hers. How could Wyatt say such a thing to Chris? Sure, her and Leo had been going through a rough patch when Chris was conceived, but that did not make him a mistake. He was made out of _love,_ just like Wyatt had been.

"He was going on about how I was this arrogant Twice-Blessed brat and how you guys both favored me more and -"

"Wyatt." Leo cut in, stopping the boy from going on. "Your brother was no mistake, you understand? I don't want to hear you ever say that again. Chris had no right to say what he said to you, but that does not give you the right to imply to him that _we_ consider him a mistake."

"I didn't mean it." Wyatt told them with sincerity. "I was just mad. His inferiority complex just kicked in and he's been acting like a complete ass to me since yesterday."

Piper let out a sigh after a minute, calming down somewhat, before speaking back up. "I'm guessing he's blocking you from sensing him?" She asked, Wyatt giving her the nod she was expecting in reply.

"I think it's best that we let him cool off a bit." Leo suggested. Chris had been _enraged _and he knew that searching for the teenager would not make the kid want to come back any time sooner. The needed to let him settle down and relax, then the two brothers could sort everything out. "Chris will come back eventually, he always does."

Piper let out another sigh and gave a reluctant nod, knowing that this was the right way to go about it, even if she really wanted to summon his ass back here and trap him in a crystal cage. He just needed to cool down, then Wyatt and Chris could resolve whatever it was they were fighting about and move on. She hoped Chris would chose the _normal_ way to cool down, but a part of her knew he wouldn't. Even if the kid complained about wanting to be normal, he would still always chose demon hunting over mulling things over.

* * *

Chris flung out his hands, electricity sparking and bursting forth from his palms and straight into a demon, causing it to let out a painful scream. Once that demon had disappeared, he swiftly turned around and attacked another, eyes narrowed and expression filled with anger.

"Damn." Meg commented from her spot a few feet away. "You're viscous when you're angry." She threw out a ball of fire at the demon in front of her, smirking as she watched it disappear, letting her eyes wander back over to Chris. His gaze wandered her way, hands still sparking electricity. The large group of demons that had once surrounded them had been completely obliterated, and both Meg and Chris were now panting.

"Anymore demons I can electrocute to death?" He asked her, not fully cooled down yet from his fight with Wyatt and ready to continue sending a painful, deadly shock into every demon he saw.

"As much as I enjoy joining you in taking out herds of demons who are after your family," She started with a smirk as she crossed her arms, "I think we should take a little break." She paused briefly, taking a few steps closer to Chris. "If you don't mind me asking though, what's got you all worked up?"

The electricity disappeared from Chris' hands and he lowered his arms. "My brother was just being an ass, that's all." He replied simply, a hint of irritation in his tone.

"Oh, the Twice-Blessed kid." She commented, "I would hate to have to deal with that kid on a daily basis. His powers have probably gone to his head. I imagine he has a massive ego?"

Chris gave a small laugh and nodded. "He's got an ego alright." The smile died down shortly after before Chris added, "He's not _that_ bad though. He's been a good brother, I guess. Super annoying though. He believes he has a right to know _everything_. About my normal _and_ magical life."

"Speaking of that." Meg started up, looking rather curious. "I know you were looking for why the Source was after you. Find any answers yet?"

"How do you know that?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, curiosity and suspicion apparent on his face.

"That Phoenix you were with," She started, "Bianca, right?" Chris gave a nod in reply, and Meg went on. "Well, she's been looking around for an answer and one of her demons connections asked me if I knew anything."

"Do you?" Chris asked, a little hopeful. He hadn't asked Meg yet - had thought about it, but had forgot to - and maybe she knew something. It seemed unlikely though, given most demons seemed to know shit about it.

"No, sorry." She replied with a shrug and some sincerity.

"Dammit." Chris hissed, clearly disappointed. "I'm so sick of dealing with all these stupid demons all the time."

"_I _may not know," She started, a smirk stretching across her features, "but, I have an idea on how to end all this."

"I'm up for anything." Chris replied. He was getting really sick of this constant fighting. He liked to fight demons rarely - whenever he was angry and whenever he was in the mood - but fighting everyday, sometimes more than once a day, was wearing him out, along with his family. They all needed a break from it, and the demons needed to just _stop _and leave them alone.

"I think you should just go see the Source." She suggested.

"What?" Chris exclaimed, eyes wide, taken back by her idea. He was expecting something more _sane_ to come out of her mouth than that. "That's like signing my own death certificate." He commented. "Are you _insane?_"

"Honestly, Chris, if the Source hasn't killed you by now, then he's not going to." Meg explained, arms crossed. "He wouldn't waste such man power if he just wanted to _kill_ you. He wants something, obviously, and this is the best way for you to find out - straight from the horses mouth."

Chris contemplated it for a moment. She definitely had a point. The Source had the power to kill him with a flick of his finger, and there was no way he'd waste all these demons on him and his family if he wanted him dead. He was trying to wear them all down, but for what reason, Chris didn't know. He wanted something, and since no other demons seemed to know what that _"something" _was, his best bet was to go and talk to the Source in person. His mother would surely _kill_ him if she ever found out about this ...

"Alright." Chris responded after a minute, agreeing with her idea. It was the best bet he had. "How would I find the Source, though? It's not like he advertises where he lives to witches."

"I'll take you to him." She informed him. "If he does try anything, I can protect you - though I don't see that likely."

"How do I know I can trust you?" He asked, arms crossed.

"Well," she started, arms crossed as she looked up to her left, thinking for a second, before her eyes met his again. "You can't, really." She gave a shrug. "You're just going have to go with blind faith on this one, kid."

She was right about that one, Chris knew that. Blind faith was something he'd never really had though, but she had never done anything to make him _not_ trust her. She had saved his ass two times now, _and _had just killed a whole clan of demons with him. She seemed trustworthy enough, and this was all he had. He wanted the demons to stop attacking - it was wearing out him and his family - and this was the only way he could find out what the hell the Source wanted with him. If the demon hadn't killed him by now, he wasn't going to ... right?

"Alright." Chris finally responded, giving a nod. "Just, shimmer us there now before I change my mind."

"Sure." She responded as she stepped toward Chris and grabbed his arm, the two swiftly distorting and disappearing from the cave, fear in the pit of Chris' stomach, thinking back to the last time he had encountered the Source. He felt like he could feel those fingers around his neck just thinking about it.

* * *

Phoebe and Paige appeared in the attic in a swirl of blue and white sparkling orbs, the eldest sister holding onto an unused vanquishing potion that had been meant for the leader of the clan they had went after. By the time they got there though, the whole clan, including the leader, had been vanquished.

Piper looked up from the Book that rested on its' pedestal, watching as her sisters appeared a few feet away. They had left only minutes ago. Her husband looked up from his spot on the couch as well, clearly baffled to see the two sisters back so soon.

"That was quick." Piper commented, eyebrow raised, a bit bemused on how swiftly those two had come back from taking out an entire clan.

"That's because the entire clan had already been taken care of." Paige replied as she walked over to the table and placed the unused potion down. She gripped the edge of the table and leaned against it. "One guess who did it."

Piper and Leo shared a look, both thinking the same thing, before exclaiming, "Chris."

"Bingo!" Paige declared, raising a finger up. "James Dean the Teenage Witch has struck again."

"That kid can really kick some serious ass when he's angry." Phoebe commented as she took a seat beside Leo. That clan had been one of the larger ones they were supposed to be going after, and it seems like Chris took care of it without any effort at all. The entire place was empty, no sign of Chris or the clan anywhere.

"Maybe we should just let him take care of all of the demons we were after today, since that's what he seems to being doing." Paige suggested with a smile. "I would absolutely _love_ a break."

"No." Piper instantly protested, "We do not let my sixteen year old son take care of every demon clan _by himself_, Paige." She threw her youngest sister a glare, features shining her anger at the suggestion. "What we do is we go find the idiot and bring him back here."

"Fine." Paige replied with a sigh. "We'll go find the moody kid." She crossed her arms and looked toward Piper.

"What's he so mad about again anyway?" Phoebe asked from her spot on the couch. Her sisters and brother-in-law had not informed her on what exactly had Chris riled up in the first place. All she knew was it was some sort of brotherly quarrel that caused Chris to storm out of the house and go on a demon hunting rampage.

"Let's just say Wyatt kind of picked at his inferiority complex a little _too_ much." Paige explained, not wanting to go into major detail over the fight. She wasn't sure _she _even knew the whole story. Wyatt had probably left a few things out, but it didn't really matter. All any of them needed to know was that the two had been fighting, and one had taken it a little too far for Chris' liking.

"Oh." Phoebe gave a nod, "Both Chris' seemed to have serious issues with that." She paused, a thought suddenly striking her. "Speaking of the other Chris, how are things going with the visions? The ceremony worked well, right?" She had not asked about it yet and she had been wondering if things had truly went well. After seeing Chris freak out in Piper's kitchen, she'd been wondering if the ceremony truly worked. The event felt vision related to her, though she couldn't be sure. Chris had kept quiet about it, and she was just speculating because it seemed like the only reason to her.

"Well, Chris doesn't really talk about his visions." Leo started. "He hasn't really complained about anything, and he hasn't been having them during the day to my knowledge, so I think everything is going okay with it."

"It's not like he'd actually _tell_ us if things weren't going well." Piper added from her spot near the Book, looking up from the page it was open to. "He still hasn't told us squat about his visions, as well as anything about what happened to him at school and in the kitchen a few days ago."

"That's not a surprise." Paige commented with a roll of her eyes. "He sure does like to keep everything important to himself." After a moment of thought, Paige let out a huff and added, "Why'd he have to pick up on the other Chris' _annoying_ traits?"

"Do we have any idea what happened?" Phoebe asked, turning her gaze to Leo, knowing that his mind had probably already been working away at theories since the first episode in the kitchen.

"I really don't know." Leo replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "This is one magical thing that's stumped me." He paused briefly. "I honestly don't have much to go on, since I'm not really sure what happened in the first place. Chris doesn't really seem to want to talk about it."

"Of course." Paige chimed in. "Chris would never tell us anything that would allow us to help him."

"Well, he's still mad at us for the whole not telling him about the other Chris thing." Phoebe reminded them all with a raised finger. "I don't even need my empathy to tell you that."

"Damn, that kid can hold a grudge." Paige commented with irritation. Her eyes wandered to Piper, a smirk curling up on her lips. "He must have inherited that anger from you."

Piper glared her way, not even having to word a warning to her youngest sister. Paige instantly looked away, mumbling a soft, "Just saying," with a shrug of her shoulders and leaving it at that.

"Alright." Piper declared, stepping away from the Book after quickly glancing down at the page once more. "Time to catch up with my son and drag his ass back to this attic." Paige stood up straight and Phoebe rose from her seat, both making their way toward Piper.

"Paige, you know where the next clan is." Piper declared, grabbing a potion from Paige's hand. "Orb us there, and hopefully, this time, we'll find Chris."

Paige gave a nod and grabbed onto Piper as Phoebe grabbed on as well, the three Charmed Ones disappearing in a swirl of blue and white orbs moments after.

Chris and Meg reappeared in a dark and dusky cavern - much like any other part of the Underworld - but this cave was different. There, sitting before them a few feet away, raised up inches higher than the two, was the Source of All Evil himself. The grotesque demon looked down at them, clearly surprised, before letting a smirk fall on his lips as he watched Meg bow before him while Chris just kept standing, his jade eyes narrowed with intensity on him.

"Well, Halliwell." The Source started, arms crossed, "You've got a lot of guts coming here." He paused briefly, before adding. "You know, I could kill you right here with just a flick of my wrist if I wanted."

"I'm well aware of that." Chris replied, hiding his fear for the demon with a demeanor of anger. "But, I figured you would have already killed me when you had the chance if you wanted me dead."

"You did, did you?" The Source replied with a grin, studying him with a raised eyebrow. "Well, what if I was just waiting for the opportune moment to snap that little neck of yours?"

Chris was taken back by that, his heart speeding up a bit, but made sure to keep himself looking tough on the outside. He wouldn't let the Source see how scared he truly was of him. Like the demon had said, he _could_ kill him with a flick of his wrist, hell_,_ even a flick of his _finger_.

"If that was true, you would have killed me when you had me by the throat in my foyer." Chris retorted, arms crossed, almost trying to convince himself more of that fact than the Source.

The Source just stared at him for a moment, smirking, seeming quiet amused, before starting up. "So then, you've come down here to, what, beg for me to take your worthless little life away from you now?"

"I've come to see what you want from me." Chris informed the demon, his glance quickly falling onto Meg before shifting back to the Source. "I mean, you wouldn't be wasting all this man power unless you wanted _something_, right?"

The Source studied him with a smirk, clearly amused by the conversation, before speaking up. "So, you've come to make a deal, then?" He asked. "So I will call a sort of cease fire on you and your family?"

"Sure, I guess." Chris replied with a shrug, a little skeptical. "What do you want?"

"Hmm," The Source exclaimed, fingers rested on his chin, "I want a lot of things. Your brother dead, your family dead, but I guess I'll just settle for something more _simple_ than that." He paused and sat up straight, letting his hand fall back to his sides. "I want you to weaken your bond with Wyatt." Chris looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He had not been expecting that as an answer.

"You see," The Source started to explain, "that pesky little bond of yours will only grow stronger, giving you two strength you can't even imagine. There will be a point when your brother can even tap into _your_ powers." Now, that got Chris. The Source could sense the change in mood in the witch's features, instantly catching onto that anger and his pesky inferiority complex kicking in. "You see, I don't want Wyatt anymore powerful than he already is." He told Chris. "I hope you agree with me on that one; the Twice-Blessed witch is much too powerful for his own good. He must have such an _ego_."

As the Source caught onto Chris' expression, he knew he had gotten him. Barbas had done good work, which made him happy that he had hired him for the task, even if the cocky demon annoyed him to no end. At least the annoyance was worth it.

"Fine." Chris replied, "I'll work on weakening it. I can't _break_ it though."

"Of course." The Source replied, "It's a _blood_ bond, you can't break blood. But, you can weaken its power, and that's all I want."

"Swear you'll keep your word." Chris ordered, pointing to the demon with a stiff finger and narrowed eyes.

"Of course, Christopher." The Source replied, raising his hands up while grinning. "I'm a man of honor; I always keep my word."

The Source rose from his seat and made his way down to Chris and Meg, towering over both by inches. He placed his hand out and asked, "Shall we shake on it, then?"

Chris stared down at the hand, studying the ashy, gray palm, taking in the creases and the wrinkles, before looking back up toward the demon and grasping the hand. They shook, the Source smiling, and as he stared at that smile, he realized what he had really done. He had literally made a deal with the devil.

* * *

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Hopefully you all will review with some feedback. I love to hear what you all think :)

I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, like always!

Until then, thanks again for reading and reviewing!

:)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own thoughts and ideas.**

Thank you all so much who reviewed the last chapter, I appreciate so much!

I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!

:)

* * *

Chris' eyes scanned over the hefty books that lined the shelf in front of him, reading each title until he found one that would seem to be useful to him. This time, his eyes stopped on _Magical Connections: Bindings, Bonds, and Links. _He slid the book out from its' spot on the shelf and stared at the cover briefly before opening it and skimming the first few pages. He had made that deal with the Source only a day ago and had since been working almost non-stop trying to find a way to weaken his blood bond with Wyatt. The Source had seemed to be keeping up his end of the bargain: there had been no attacks since their handshake sealed the deal, and his life was much more peaceful and less demon filled once again. Now, the time he spent dealing with demons was completely occupied with this. Who knew weakening a bond would involve this much research? It sounded simple enough to him, but apparently, he had been deceived. He was happy the Source had actually been up for making a deal. Weakening his bond with Wyatt couldn't really hurt anything. It'd still be there if they really needed it, it just wouldn't allow Wyatt to tap into his powers or become even more powerful.

"I think I've found you another."

Chris' eyes gazed up from the page he had been skimming and looked up at the dwarf who stood high on the ladder a few feet away, sliding another book from the shelf. Chris shut the book he had been skimming and placed it on the pile beside him before the librarian held out the book for him and he reached for it. He studied the cover, read the title, and opened it. He flipped through the pages, skimming over certain phrase and words to see if the book would be helpful.

"Why are you looking for all this information on bonds, anyway?" Mr. Fennwich asked as he stepped off the ladder and turned his gaze over to Chris, the young teenager looking up from his book and over to him once again.

"Thought it would be ... enlightening, I suppose." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders, obviously keeping the real reason to himself. If anyone found out about this and told his family, he'd be screwed. They wouldn't allow him to do it, and he'd hear the whole we-don't-negotiate-with-magical-terrorists lecture again.

The dwarf studied him for a moment before giving a shrug and looking back toward the shelf, remembering the spot of another book on the topic and moving the ladder with him as he walked.

Chris went back to his book and continued to flip through pages, skimming paragraphs. He figured that doing all of this research was the best way to come up with a quick spell or something. The more he knew about bonds, the easier it would be to find a way to weaken one. There had to be some spell or potion that could solve that problem for him quickly. One of these many books would hold the answer, hopefully. The Book of Shadows had not really helped him any, sadly, so now he had to resort to coming to the vast Magic School library. He kind of wished the Book had had an answer, because he knew that word of his presence here would somehow get to his father or Aunt Paige. They were both a little too nosy for Chris' liking, and they were going to be suspicious if they saw the books he was taking out. His plan was to do this quick and swift, leaving with the books before his father or Aunt Paige could see what they were.

"Quite a stack of books you've got going there, Chris."

Speak of the devil. Paige's voice caused Chris to snap his head up from the book and turn it quickly toward the sound, spotting both his aunt and father standing behind him. Word had spread a lot faster than Chris had anticipated.

Leo made his way over to the stack and picked up one of the books, Chris opening his mouth to protest instantly. He quickly backed down, knowing that if he did, that would just lead his aunt and father to be more suspicious of him. His father skimmed the title before looking down to the stack and reading the title of the book that had been below it.

"What's got you so interested in magical bonds, Chris?" Leo asked, looking up toward his son and catching on quickly to the small amount of irritation that was starting to shine through his eyes.

"Well, you know, I _do _have one with Wyatt." Chris started to explain, clearly not in the mood for his father's questions. He shut the book in his hand and placed it on top of the stack before holding out his hand toward his father, waiting for his old man to hand him over the book.

"That doesn't really answer my question." Leo replied as he handed Chris the book and watched as he placed it on top of the stack before waving his hand and quickly orbing them away. His father thought he was hiding something, and so did Paige. They always thought that, and though they were usually right, it still annoyed Chris to no end.

"Jeez. I just want to read some books, and you two act like I'm doing something criminal." Chris commented as he crossed his arms.

"Well," Paige started, "for all we know, you could be."

Chris let out a huff and exclaimed, "You've got to be kidding me." His eyes flashed from his father to his aunt, clearly shining his irritation. "I just want to read some books. That's it."

"Well, when someone just feels like reading, they grab a book or two. You had - what? - about _fifteen_ there?" Paige retorted. She was suspicious of Chris, especially since he was reading about something magical. He was researching bonds for some reason, but the odds of him actually telling them for what reason was close to nothing. The damn kid was so secretive; it bugged her.

"I'm a fast reader." Chris shot back the reply quick, his annoyance growing as each second passed. Paige could be worse than his father when it came to interrogations. She seemed to never like to drop a subject or let it go. She was almost annoying him as much as Wyatt did at times.

"Of course you are." Paige responded with a roll of her eyes.

Chris and Paige shared a look before the teenager turned his head and looked up toward the librarian. "I think I have enough books for now, Mr. Fennwich." The dwarf looked away from the shelf he had been searching and gave a nod. "Thanks for the help." Mr. Fennwich gave another nod in reply and Chris turned his gaze back to his aunt and father.

"If you're both done with the interrogation, I'd like to get going." Chris informed the two. "I've got a lot of reading to start up on."

"Have you talked to Wyatt yet?" Leo asked, deciding to leave the other topic on the back burner for a while and start up with this. Chris rolled his eyes and seemed even more annoyed with this question than the others.

"No." He replied simply, clearly not in the mood to talk about it. He honestly didn't feel like dealing with Wyatt right then, especially since he had to get their whole bond weakened as soon as possible. He hadn't been given a deadline, but he assumed the Source would come checking sooner rather than later. He had research to do, and he was in no mood to deal with their stupid fight right now.

"He didn't mean what he said, Chris." Leo informed his son, though he and Piper had both assured Chris of this last night when they talked to him when he came back from where ever he went.

"Yeah." Chris replied with a shrug, clearly not in the mood to discuss any of it any further. "I'll talk to him later, okay?"

"Alright." Leo replied with a nod.

With one quick and simple goodbye, Chris orbed himself out of the library.

"You think he's hiding something from us?" Paige asked her brother-in-law, turning her gaze toward him.

"He's _always_ hiding something from us." Leo replied, letting his gaze wander from where his son had just been standing over to Paige.

Paige snorted and crossed her arms. "Isn't that the truth?"

* * *

Chris studied the text that sat in front of him, stopping occasionally to jot down a note or two before going straight back to reading. He had been at this for hours now, reading and jotting notes down systemically, and was starting to get frustrated. This was much harder than expected. Blood bonds are impossible to break, and apparently crazy hard to weaken. There had to be a way, he knew it, it just would take him some time to find it.

Chris let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair, eyes falling over to the massive stack of books he had not read yet. This was going to take _forever_. He titled his head back and rubbed at his temples, shutting his tired eyes tight. Though it was only the late afternoon, he was starting to become exhuasted. All this research was wearing him out.

"Looking a little tired there, kid."

The voice caused Chris to jump, his eyes opening wide and head swiftly turning to find the source of the voice. He spotted Meg sitting on his bed, wearing an amused smirk.

"Did I scare you?" She teasingly asked as she watched Chris' tense shoulders relax once again.

"How'd you know I was here?" Chris asked, suspicion lurking in his tone.

"The necklace." She replied with a shrug, causing Chris to avert his gaze away from Meg and over to the necklace he had placed on his desk. He hadn't known that she could sense him with it, she had apparently left that little piece of information out. And then, Chris suddenly relieved she was sitting in his _room_, in his _house_, where his crazy mother could suddenly walk in and spot her, then blow her to pieces with no hesitation.

"You need to get out of here." Chris informed the demon, quickly standing up from his seat and walking over to the door. He swiftly pushed in the handle and locked it before turning to face Meg again. "My mother will vanquish you if she sees you in here."

"I'm not afraid of your mother, Chris." Meg replied as she placed her hands down on the bed and leaned back.

Chris raised an eyebrow at that. Most demons feared the name Halliwell, and this was _Piper_ Halliwell he was talking about. His mother even terrified _him _sometimes. Yet, Meg just sat there, looking relaxed and calm, as if she was not sitting in the house of one of the infamous Charmed Ones. There was something about Meg that Chris felt she wasn't telling him.

"If she comes in, I'll just shimmer out, if that makes you feel any better." Meg added as she caught onto his look. "Besides, I'm here to help_ you_. Maybe if you just explained that to your family they wouldn't _want_ to blow me up." She gave a shrug of her shoulders, smile still wide. "I mean, isn't that what you did with that Bianca chick?"

Chris hesitated for a moment and leaned against the door, before explaining, "They don't exactly know I'm still seeing her."

"Oh." Meg exclaimed. "I guess that does make sense. She did kidnap you or something, right?" She paused and Chris gave a nod in response. "That probably wouldn't go over well with your family if they found out."

"Exactly." Chris replied. "And I'm not too sure this would go over well either. I think this would be the worse of the two, though. You _are _a demon and all."

"A demon who has come to see if you need any help with this whole bond weakening thing." She declared with a raised finger and a smile. "I'm helping _you. _Not all things are black and white in this world, your family doesn't seem to get that."

"Yes, but if my family found out what I was doing they would object without hesitation." Chris pointed out. "I'm working on weakening my bond with my brother because I made a deal with the freaking _Source of All Evil_."

"So?" Meg replied. "They should be grateful. You're sacrificing something to get all these demons off their backs."

"They wouldn't exactly see it that way." Chris informed her with a shrug. "It's more like me being an idiot."

"Well, your apparent stupidity will benefit a lot of people." She told him with a smile. "What your family doesn't know, won't hurt them, right?"

"Pretty much my motto." Chris replied, a small smile curling on his had been a few times when his motto had been proved wrong, but still, he always felt it was safer to keep things to himself. In theory, that motto was supposed to prove true, and most of the time, it did.

"How's the whole research thing going?" She asked, her eyes wandering around the room, catching onto the stacks of books that sat on the floor.

"Not so well." Chris replied, his eyes darting back over to the open book on his desk and the stack of notes he had collected. "I've got a lot to cover, and apparently, weakening a blood bond his harder than I thought."

"Is there anyway I can help speed up the process?" Meg asked, causing Chris' gaze to wonder back over to the demon.

"I think I've got it covered." Chris informed her. This odd feeling was starting to fall over him when he looked at Meg. He didn't know how to explain it, but something didn't feel right. She was a _demon_, who was trying to help a _Halliwell_. That sentence doesn't even _sound_ right. Maybe he was just being paranoid. She_ was_ neutral, and she had saved his ass many times since they met, but he just couldn't shake the feeling. He didn't know why it was suddenly striking him so hard now, but clearly, he was just being paranoid. She was offering to help him, and he could really use the help.

"Actually," He started back up, "there's this demon who has a potion shop down in the Demon Markets. His name's Terry. Could you go ask him if he knows of any potions that could help me with this? He knows a hell of a lot about potions, and I could really use the help."

"Sure." She agreed with a smile as she tucked a few loose strands of her raven black hair behind her ears. "I've heard of the guy. I can go talk to him for you." She paused briefly, watching as Chris made his way back over toward his desk, eyeing the book that sat on his desk almost painfully. "Why don't you just come with me?" She asked, catching his attention. "You've been caged up in this room for hours reading."

"How do you know that?" Chris asked as he looked toward her, bemused. "The necklace?"

"You catch on quick, Halliwell." She responded with a smirk as she rose from her seat. "So, shall we go?" She held out her hand to Chris, ready to shimmer away.

Chris turned his gaze away from her and back down to the necklace. He grabbed it by the chain and stared at the metal charm that dangled on it. This thing was much more powerful than he thought. He didn't exactly know what the symbol meant, but now he felt he should maybe look into it. He'd have to worry about that after he took care of his deal with the Source. He had a feeling that the demon wouldn't be so patient about it. He turned his gaze back toward Meg, who was still waiting, hand held out toward him. He quickly slid into a sweater and stuffed the necklace in his pocket before grabbing her hand and disappearing with her.

* * *

"So, what do you think Chris is up to?" Paige asked, taking a sip of the tea Piper had made them after telling them about Chris' visit to the Magic School library. Leo was still at school working and Paige had decided to be the one to tell both sisters about it, since she was free from work for the next few hours.

Piper and Phoebe shared a look before Piper turned her gaze toward her youngest sister. "Research, I guess." She told her sister with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I _know_ that Piper." Paige replied with a roll of her eyes as she placed her mug down on the table. "I mean, why do you think he's researching that?"

"Well, maybe because he and Wyatt share a bond like that." Piper replied as she brought her mug up to her lips and took a sip of the hot brew. "Maybe he just wants to know more about it."

"Well, has anyone else noticed the decline in demon attacks lately?" Phoebe chimed in, deciding to join the brainstorming session. "I mean, since yesterday afternoon there has been _zero_ attacks." She paused and looked from Piper to Paige, before adding. "I don't know about you, but I do find that a _little_ strange."

"And now, Chris is suddenly researching magical bonds like crazy." Paige added on, "Seems a little _too _much like a coincidence to me." She took another sip of her tea. They were clearly onto something.

"You think they're connected?" Piper asked, looking from her younger sister to Phoebe, the look on their faces clearly stating a 'yes'. "I don't know." Piper started, placing her mug on the table. "I mean, what would that have to do with all the demons stopping their attacks. Maybe the Source finally decided to give it a rest, since we keep kicking everyone's asses." She mused aloud, sharing her idea with her sisters.

"Those demons clearly weren't attacking to kill, Piper." Phoebe reminded her. "The Source doesn't want any of us dead, oddly enough."

"Then he wanted us to - what? - be so annoyed that we want to personally blow him to pieces but couldn't because of the massive amount of demon attacks we were dealing with?" Piper asked with a hint of annoyance. She had truly felt that way numerous times since the attacks began, but there wasn't much time for blowing up the Source when you had to worry about blowing up his stupid minions.

"There's something bigger going on, we all know that." Paige said. "The problem is we just don't what that thing is."

"What do you think he really wants?" Phoebe asked, directing her gaze toward Paige. "Something to do with us or Wyatt?"

"I don't know, Phoebe." Paige replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's not like the Source suddenly popped up out of nowhere and said, 'Hey, Paige, here's what I'm planning to do to your family, now, go tell your sisters and stop me' or anything." A pause. "I'm just as clueless as you two are."

"I still don't understand why the demon attacks just suddenly stopped now." Piper declared. "And I don't know if we can really connect Chris' sudden splurge in research to it. It's not like he had a nice little chat with the Source or anything and the second he picked up a book the demons backed off."

"Who knows with that kid." Paige commented, taking a sip of her tea before continuing, though she had caught onto the look Piper was giving her. "He did plan his own kidnapping with Bianca and placed himself right in the grasp of the Seer."

"So?" Piper asked, arms crossed. "Yes, that was stupid, but I don't think he'd be stupid enough to go and talk with the Source. The demon could kill him without even standing from his throne if he wanted to. Chris isn't _that_ dumb ... " Piper trailed off, her eyes glancing between her two sisters, catching onto the look they were giving her, doubt suddenly filling her expression. "Right?"

"Chris wouldn't do that, Piper." Phoebe reassured her sister, trying to reassure herself as well. Her nephew wasn't that stupid. They all had no reason to worry about that. "Of course, the thing with the Seer was incredibly idiotic, but Chris isn't dumb enough to go actually talk with the Source. And why would the Source even care about magical bonds anyway?"

"She's right." Paige agreed. "Chris isn't that stupid. He knows better than to just orb himself down to the Source. Besides, how could he even know where the demon lives? No witches really know that."

"So, if it's not that, then what caused the sudden stop in demon attacks?" Piper asked, looking from Paige and Phoebe, hoping one of them had a good answer.

"I don't know." Phoebe replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Maybe the Source didn't want to waste anymore man power. Maybe he got bored with attacking our family. I mean, he must have something better to do, being the Source of All Evil and all."

"Or, maybe," Paige cut in, both Piper and Phoebe looking her way, "this is just the calm before the storm."

* * *

Chris and Meg made their way through the Demon Markets, the teenage witch leading the way. Meg didn't exactly know where Terry's shop was, all she knew was that she had heard the name spoken around a few times. They quickly slid in the store, Chris keeping his hood on and head down until he was inside the building. Chris pulled down his hood and looked toward the counter, eyes instantly going wide as he spotted a familiar face that he hadn't expected to see.

"Bianca." Chris started, staring straight into the brown eyes of the Phoenix witch. She had been talking with Terry at the counter, and when she turned and spotted him with _her_, her eyes had suddenly hardened. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you." She shot back, her eyes pulling away from Meg and landing straight on Chris.

"I needed to ask Terry something." Chris informed her. "I kind of need his help with something. Well, that is, if he knows anything about it."

"Hello again, Bianca." Meg greeted her with a smile, clearly amused by the Phoenix's hardened glare when it landed right back on the raven haired demon. She eyed the witch up and down, before adding. "Like the outfit. Black leather suits you well."

Bianca gave the demon a forced, annoyed smile before turning her gaze back to Chris and speaking up.

"Can we talk for a minute?" She asked, her eyes falling back over to the female demon. "In _private_?"

"Of course." Meg replied with a smug smile. "I'll just wait outside. Give you two some privacy, as you requested." She shared a quick look with Chris, who had rolled his eyes due to Bianca's behavior, before Meg slipped out the door and shut it behind her.

"Seems you've become even more buddy-buddy with Miss Demon-Bitch since I last saw you." Bianca commented, clearly shining her distaste in her tone and expression, arms crossed.

"So?" Chris asked, crossing his arms as well, staring her down. "She's _helping_ me."

"She's a _demon_, Chris." Bianca shot back, quickly turning her head to Terry, who leaned against the counter, watching their fight. "No offense, Terry."

"None taken." He replied.

Bianca turned her head back to Chris and went on. "You shouldn't trust her so easily."

"I didn't say I do, Bianca." Chris responded, eyes hardened and tone harsh. "She hasn't done anything to prove she isn't trustworthy." A pause. "Haven't we already had this conversation?"

"Fine." Bianca declared. "Let's talk about something else then, shall we?" She paused for a second, staring down Chris, before starting back up. "Is it true that you made a deal with the Source?"

Chris hadn't expected that to come out of her mouth, but then again, the Source must have spread that throughout the Underworld pretty quick. Bianca was bound to find out eventually. He was surprised it spread _that_ fast though.

Chris' glare instantly softened and Bianca knew that what she had heard was indeed true. "Chris, why did you do that? Are you out of your mind?"

"It'll get the Source off my family's back, and what he wants isn't exactly that big of a deal." Chris defended his actions and looked back toward Terry, the demon instantly intrigued by the sudden revelation. "That's actually what I came to talk to you about, Terry." Chris told the fanged demon.

"What did he want?" Bianca asked, curious and concerned for her friend. The Source was someone you definitely did not make deals with. You didn't make deals with demons_ period._ They weren't usually good deals in the end.

"He wants me to weaken my bond with Wyatt, that's it." Chris informed her with a shrug of his shoulders.

Bianca let out a sigh. It wasn't that bad, sure, but that concerned her even more. Why would the Source just want that in exchange for a cease fire? "Now that you've made the deal, there's really no way out of it." Bianca informed Chris. "Demons are very strict when it comes to deals, especially the Source." She paused and let her gaze soften a bit, before adding a warning. "Just know, Chris, you're playing with fire."

"Everything will be fine, Bianca. Don't worry about it." Chris assured her before turning his gaze over to Terry and making his way closer to the counter.

"Do you know of any potions or anything that could help me with weakening a blood bond?" He asked the demon as he leaned his elbows against the counter. Bianca turned her gaze back to Terry as well, curious.

Terry pondered for a minute, before replying. "If you bring me your research, I can probably help you with a potion to weaken it." Terry informed him. "I just don't know much about it. If I knew more, than I bet I could create you a rather good potion to do the job."

Chris gave a smile and replied. "Really? Thanks Terry. I'll pay you greatly for this, I promise."

"You always do." Terry pointed out with a wide smile, fangs showing. "That's why I choose to help a witch, of all beings."

"You should probably get back to that raven haired slut you've got outside." Bianca commented, a hint of distaste in her tone. "You've kept her waiting out there for a while."

"She's not that bad, Bianca." Chris informed the Phoenix, defending his newest ally.

"You really don't know her, Chris." Bianca shot back, arms crossed. "But I can't stop you from seeing her, so all I ask is that you be careful around her. Don't let your guard down."

"I never do." Chris replied.

Bianca let out a snort of disbelief before saying a quick goodbye and shimmering herself out.

"I'll be back later, Terry." Chris informed the demon, who gave a nod in response.

Chris turned and started his way toward the door, before Terry suddenly spoke up.

"I'd listen to her, if I was you." Terry suggested to the teenage witch, agreeing with Bianca's words. "Be careful around that raven haired demon."

"I always am." Chris replied as he reached the door, never stopping to turn around. He rose a hand and added. "Until later, Terry." He opened the door and slid out, shutting it tight behind him.

* * *

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all review. I love to hear what you all think, it sometimes gives me ideas and keeps me writing more frequently.

I'll post the next chapter up as soon as possible. I've been waiting to write it for a while now :)

Until then, thanks again for reading and I hope to get many reviews!

:)


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own thoughts and ideas.**

Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter, I appreciate it so much!

I'm actually updating early for once, which probably pleases all of you. This chapter came out very fast - I've been waiting to write it since the beginning.

Enjoy!

:)

* * *

Chris sat in the attic, waiting rather impatiently for Meg to return. After two days of working with Terry, they finally cracked it. Terry had created a potion he believed would solve his problem, and now he was waiting for Meg to return with the brewed concoction. He would have gone to get it himself if his parents hadn't started acting completely crazy. They had grown rather suspicious of him, and whenever he left for more than a thirty minute period of time, his parents would get Wyatt on his case. Even if he did block his brother from sensing him, he'd have to hear Wyatt calling for him over and over for what felt like hours. He hadn't learned how to mute his brother yet, sadly. When he was in the house, they all left him alone, so he had decided to stay in that morning and let Meg take care of procuring the potion Terry had made. She had offered, and Chris wasn't going to refuse. The sooner he got this whole deal with the Source behind him, the sooner he could move on with his life.

He had made sure everyone in the house was preoccupied, allowing Meg time to shimmer in with the potion and shimmer out without getting caught. He didn't want to get her blown to pieces, and his family wouldn't understand him allying himself with a demon. To his family, all demons equal evil. There is no demon - even _neutral_ demon - that they are really willing to trust. If they ever found out, they'd just blame it on his naivety, but everything was not black and white, they never seemed to get that.

Meg had told him she would be here around now, but Chris was growing inpatient. He was never one to just sit around and wait. He wished he could have gotten the potion. He didn't like being cooped up in his house, especially with his nosy family scattered about. His aunts were downstairs, along with the Book, probably working on theories as to why the Source stopped attacking, all while speculating wha_t he _was up to. They tended to do that a lot. The last few days his aunts and mother have been questioning him randomly, popping up sporadically, trying to learn or catch a glimpse of something that would answer their questions. They weren't finding out anything. He was a good liar now, and he knew how to hide things.

Chris' eyes suddenly flew up to a spot as he noticed a distorted figure forming a few feet away from him. Meg appeared with a smirk, holding up a small vial filled with the potion Terry had made. He instantly stood from his seat and made his way over to the demon.

"Wow, anxious to take this, are we?" She asked with a smile, handing Chris over the small vial. "Terry says to add a drop of your blood to it, then it'll be done."

"Alright." Chris turned and made his way over to the table where a cauldron sat, looking around assorted potion ingredients until he spotted a needle. Meg followed him to the table, her eyes falling onto the necklace she had given him. He had placed it on the table, the chain coiled up and the small charm inches away. Her hand fell over it and she looked back over to Chris.

"Terry appreciated your hefty payment." She commented, watching as Chris pricked his finger with the sharp needle, crimson red blood beginning to ooze from the open cut.

Chris let out a short laugh and a small smile curled his lips as he dripped one drop of his blood into the vial. "I thought he'd like the rare ingredients." He turned his gaze toward Meg, still smiling. "I'm surprised my family hasn't noticed the decrease in a lot of potion ingredients lately."

His gaze fell back onto the vial, staring at the dark purple liquid that filled it to the brim. Hopefully this would work. Terry had been 95 percent sure that this potion would do the trick, but that wasn't a hundred.

"Well, are you going to drink it?" Meg asked, staring at him anxiously, waiting for him to take down the whole potion. Chris' gaze shot her way, catching onto her look.

"Yeah." He replied with a nod, eyes flashing from Meg back to the liquid. "Let's hope this works."

Chris hesitated for a second before shutting his eyes and gulping down the entire potion in one sip. The taste was disgusting - most potions tended to taste that way - but other than that, he didn't really feel anything. The aftertaste was bitter, though.

"How do we know if it worked?" Chris asked, looking over to Meg as he placed the empty vial down on the table.

She stared at him for a minute, hand still hovering over the necklace, and gave him a smile. She suddenly moved closer to him and grabbed him, pushing his lips into hers. Then, something started to feel weird in Chris. As she kissed him, this unexplainable feeling began to consume him, swallow him, and he wanted to push her off, but whatever it was was making him feel weak. Something was wrong, very wrong. What was she doing to him?

Then, suddenly, her hand pushed against his chest, the cold feel of the small metal charm brushing against his t-shirt. That cold was gone in seconds though, and burning heat replaced it, the metal charm burning through his shirt and singing his skin, branding him. He wanted to scream, cry in pain, but her lips were still on his, and that feeling had completely taken over him. After the charm had completely burned his skin and a part of his shirt, it was removed from his chest and the heat was gone, along with Meg's venomous kiss. His skin tingled in pain, blood splotching around the open flesh.

She backed up and stared at him for a second, before shutting her eyes and inhaling deeply. A devilish, sickening smirk formed on her lips and she opened her eyes.

"Yeah," She stated, staring at a wide eyed Chris, smirk beaming more than ever before. "It worked."

* * *

Wyatt looked up from the Book, a strange, unexplainable feeling falling over him. He had no clue what had happened. One second, he was feeling fine, and the next, something felt different, _really_ different. He couldn't explain what had overcome him, but it felt like something inside him had changed. As quick as it came, it began to fade, but a sort of uneasiness followed with it. Something had happened, but he just didn't know what. He looked toward his Aunt Phoebe, who was staring at him from across the sun room, sipping at a cup of tea his mother had just brewed for herself and her sisters.

"You okay, Wyatt?" She asked, able to sense her nephew's change in mood within seconds of it happening. Her sisters hadn't seemed to catch onto it, but she had _felt _it. It was weird, and alerted her instantly.

"I don't know." He replied after a moment of hesitation, still baffled by the unexplainable feeling that had taken him over. Paige and Piper looked over, seeming a bit confused, even more so than Phoebe and Wyatt.

"Did I miss something?" Paige asked, looking from Wyatt over to Phoebe. She glanced back to Piper, catching the same baffled look on her face. Piper gave a shrug in response, clearly unaware as well.

"I just ... I don't know, felt something." Wyatt replied with a shrug, struggling to explain it. "It was weird. I can't really explain it. Something just fell over me, and then it was gone."

"Well," Phoebe started, trying to help her nephew get to the bottom of it, curious and confused as well as to what it was. "I definitely felt it too, but I just can't seem to figure out what it was. I haven't felt anything like it before." She paused and took a sip of her tea, thinking for a moment. "Have you felt anything like it before? Maybe from your bond with Chris? Piper told me you can sense when he's in pain now, right?"

"Yeah, but that didn't feel like pain. It was just so _weird. _I can't really explain it, but I can tell you something doesn't feel right." Wyatt told his aunts and mother, worrying them, trusting the young teenager's instincts. "I don't know what it _is _though." He let out an irritated sigh. "I _wish_ I knew what it was."

"Don't worry about it." Paige insisted, noticing Wyatt's obvious exasperation. "It's probably nothing." Though Paige really doubted that it was indeed nothing, maybe this would be the one time it would prove to be true. It had just been a feeling, right? And if Wyatt couldn't link it to anything, then they should be safe.

"Maybe." Wyatt replied with a shrug, not assured in the least that that was true. He focused his gaze back on the Book, trying to get his mind away from the uneasiness and focused on the pages before him. He just couldn't shake it though. The more he read, the more the questions consumed him. He just didn't understand what it was! He had never felt anything like that before. He wanted an explanation. He couldn't think about the words in front of him anymore, he couldn't read them, his mind was consumed with thoughts about that unexplainable feeling, and the uneasiness that had followed. He hoped it would pass, he hoped it was just nothing, but when was it ever _nothing_? He looked back up toward his aunts and mother, checking to see if their thoughts had moved on from it. As he studied their features and watched their shared, concerned looks, he knew it hadn't.

He was right about it though, something was wrong,_ terribly_ wrong. He just didn't know it yet.

* * *

"What did you do to me, Meg?" Chris asked, backing away from her, eyes narrowed and ready to fight. His chest still burned and that weird, foreign feeling was floating inside him, but he could still take her down if need be. There was no doubt he was strong enough.

"No."

"What?" Chris replied, bemused by her reply.

"My name's not really Meg." She explained, that smirk still shining. At this moment, Chris just wanted to rip it off her stupid face. "You were right to think that my name wasn't _weird_ enough." She paused, soaking in the moment, the shock on Chris' face and the anger that radiated from inside him. It was _amazing_. "Demons of my rank have much better names than _Meg_. So, let me formally introduce myself, with my real name." She paused for emphasis. "Hi, Chris, my name's Altus, and you have no idea how _nice_ it is to finally stop having to put on this little act for you. You really should have listened to that dumb Phoenix." She added as an afterthought. "You _never_ should trust a demon like me."

"What did you do to me?" Chris growled in response, the initial shock that this demon had been playing him all along being pushed behind by the feelings that were consuming him.

"_I _didn't do this to you." She replied with a smirk. "_You're_ the one who made a deal with the Source. _You're_ the one who weakened your bond with your brother." A pause. "Well, you _barely _weakened it. You left me the smallest crack to slide in through, and like a snake I slithered my way in." She took a step toward him and Chris backed up instinctively. "If you hadn't weakened the bond, I would have never been able to slide in. Your body would have rejected me instantly."

"Cut the bullshit." Chris replied, "Now, tell me what you did to me!"

"Not so fast." Altus responded right as Chris went to swing his hand out, catching him by surprise. His hand fell straight down to his side again and a pain started to radiate through his chest, as if something was tugging at his heart from the inside. The pain consumed him and he fell to his knees. He wanted to attack her, he wanted to move his hands and kill her, but he couldn't. It was like he was paralyzed, his arms just sat limp at his sides. How did she even know he was going to attack? He had barely gotten his arm up before she commented.

"You know, I'll excuse this outburst, but the next time you talk to me like that and try to attack me, I'll make the pain a _hell _of a lot worse_." _Altus declared as she made her way over to him and kneeled down. She lifted up the side of her shirt, revealing a runic tattoo on her hip. Chris' eyes widened as he saw the black ink. The tattoo was of the same charm that dangled off the necklace she gave him, the same symbol that was now branded into his chest.

"You know what this is, little witch?" She asked with a smile, watching as his wide jade eyes stared at the tattoo. "It's a binding symbol. For you, it's like a lock." She let her shirt fall back down, covering the skin. "You see, I put a part of my essence inside of you when we kissed. You must have felt it, everyone I've ever done it to has." He just stared with narrowed eyes, but she knew she had felt it and needed no response. "That symbol I burned into your chest locks it inside, completing the bond." She leaned in closer to him and caressed his cheek, watching as he flinched slightly, not able to move anymore than that. Her smirk grew at his discomfort and the sight of his hardened glare. "You see, this is the closest you can ever be to someone. If you die, I die, and vice versa. I also have control over your powers and your actions, hence why you're pretty frozen right now." She let out a laugh. "You're like my meat puppet. My own little toy witch."

"Fuck you." Chris spat back, rage-filled gaze never faltering.

The pain starred up again, like someone was squeezing at his heart. It was intense this time, almost sickening. The urge to puke was something he had to fight back. He couldn't fight back the scream that was dying to rip through his throat though. It came out loud and filled with agony, alerting Altus. Her eyes went wide and she quickly forced his mouth shut, clamping her hand over it quickly.

"Shit, you stupid witch." She cursed, causing the pain to be even more severe. Tears were at the brims of his eyes, and he was fighting them back as hard as he could. "I don't want them to hear us."

"Now, if you promise to be a good little boy, I'll stop the pain and let you have control of your limbs again, alright?"

She waited and smiled as she spotted the small nod Chris gave her, agreeing to her terms. "Good." She replied, letting the pain finally die down and allowing him control of his limbs once again. "Now, see? When you're mannerly and cooperative, everything works out fine."

Chris glared at her and slowly stood himself up, Altus following his movement and rising as well.

"Chris!" The call echoed up from a floor below them, and Altus let out an irritated sigh. Chris, on the other hand, was rather thankful for the call and the rushing footsteps he heard making their way to the attic stairs.

"Damn." She exclaimed as she crossed her arms and looked toward Chris. She noticed the look one his face and let out a snort. "Don't get your hopes up, kid. They aren't saving you from me. It's near impossible to break the type of bond we have."

Chris glared at her and listened as the group of footsteps became louder and louder, as well as the calls that came from his mother and aunts. When they entered the room, they spotted the demon and Chris standing next to one another. Altus' smirk beamed at this moment, and before Piper could even try to blow her up, Chris' arm suddenly flung forward and he had her pinned against the wall.

Chris stared at his mother, eyes wide and shining fear. He tried to make his hand lower, he tried to stop it, but he couldn't. Altus had complete control. "No!" he screamed, "Stop it!" He turned his gaze toward the raven haired demon, whose smirk had grown even wider.

"What the hell is going on?" Paige screamed, eyes narrowed and hands raised, ready to fight. "What are you doing, Chris?"

"Don't get made at him." Altus spoke up, drawing the family's attention, all gazes narrowed and shining with rage as they studied the demon. "He can't fight me all too well."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Piper demanded as she struggled to break free of her son's telekinetic grip. Her eyes fell over to her son, who's shaky arm was pinning her to the wall. He was shaking madly, eyes wide and filled with fear. She didn't understand what was happening to him.

"Let me just give you the cliff notes version." Altus declared, her eyes falling onto Chris. "You see the burn on Chris' chest? It's a binding link. It gives me control over your precious little son. It's one of the strongest and closet bond ever to exist." She caught onto Wyatt's glare and watched as he summoned up an energy ball in the hand slightly hidden behind his back. "I wouldn't throw that, if I was you." She told him, catching Wyatt off guard, his brown eyes going wide. "If you kill me, you kill him." She motioned to Chris with a tilt of her head. "Now, you don't want Chris dead, do you?"

Wyatt's eyes flashed from the demon to Chris, watching as his brother's widened eyes stared right at him. That fear in his brother's eyes assured him that this demon was not lying and he quickly let the energy ball disappear from his palm before letting both hands fall to his sides.

"I didn't think so." She commented devilishly.

"Altus, _stop._" Chris pleaded, letting his gaze fall back over to the demon. He didn't like the idea that his arm and his powers were hurting his mother, his _family._ "Just let her go and we can leave." Chris knew she wasn't going to just leave him here with his family, sadly. As much as he hated the idea of going off with her, he could accept it for now. He just didn't want to be the one hurting his mother anymore. He couldn't stand the thought that _his_ powers were hurting her like this, even if he was being controlled. It was really screwing with his mind.

"No!" Piper screamed, struggling even harder to break Chris' grip. "You are not taking my son away from me!" She fidgeted around even more frantically, wanting to fight for her son but failing to even raise an arm. "I'm not going to let you take him!"

"What are you going to do, Piper? _Blow me up_?" Altus asked before letting out a laugh. "You'll blow him up right along with me."

"You know what, fine Chris." She replied to her new charge, letting him move his hand freely again. When he felt her influence fade, Chris instantly dropped his mother gently to the ground as Altus neared him and wrapped an arm around him, making sure to stand somewhat behind Chris in case any of them did try anything stupid. Hopefully they trusted her word and wouldn't try to kill them, but just in case, she wanted to protect both her life and the life of her new prodigy.

"Now," she started, squeezing her arm around him tighter, feeling as Chris tensed up. He wished he could push her off of him, wanted to more than anything, but knew that he couldn't. He had just got her to stop attacking his family, he didn't want to provoke another attack. "Say goodbye to your family, kid. You won't be seeing them for a while."

Chris studied the faces that stared back at him. Wyatt wore a worried expression that was mixed with an intense rage behind his brown eyes. Even though they still hadn't exactly made up after their nasty fight, he still wanted to protect him, still wanted to be the good brother. His eyes wandered over to his Aunt Phoebe, who looked so defeated and so troubled to see what was happening. There was no rage in her eyes right now, all there was was worry and fear. For _him_. Aunt Paige had enough rage boiling in her eyes to make up for the lack in Phoebe's, along with worry and concern, but the anger was almost consuming. She wanted to kill this demon, he could see it in her eyes, but knew she couldn't, which made her even more enraged.

Finally, his eyes fell onto his mother, and he felt guilt as he stared at her features and into her eyes. She was angry, Chris could see the need to blow Altus to bits in her eyes, but at the same time she looked so lost, so defeated. She didn't know what to do to save him this time, and she didn't want to lose him again, not now. They had just gotten him back, and now he was being taken again. He didn't know how much more of this his mother and family could take, and he couldn't help but think it was all his fault. He shouldn't have made a deal with the Source, just like he shouldn't have agreed to his own kidnapping, or gone down to vanquish the Cornu all on his own. All mistakes. Every amount of pain his mother and his family was feeling now was because of his stupidity.

The image of his mother's face began to distort and disappear suddenly, and before he felt done saying his goodbyes, they were already gone.

* * *

There was this intense hate consuming Chris as he stared straight up at the Source from his spot next to Altus. He was smirking at them, pleased with himself and his companion Altus. Chris just wanted to electrocute that smirking face to death, but if he even tried that he'd feel the harsh, stinging pain of someone suffocating his heart, not allowing the blood to flow in and out as it should.

The Source took a few steps toward Chris, and instinctively he felt the need to back up, but stopped himself quickly. This had to be the Source's doing, so the Source wouldn't do anything to harm him now. He was Meg's - he meant Altus', he still kept confusing the names in his head - tool. She could use him however she wanted, and the Source had probably instructed her to do this just for that reason. He'd tell her what he wanted him to do, then Chris would have to do it without any say. She had control whenever she felt like it. He tried to fight it, and he would keep on fighting, but it was hard. The hold she had on him was like nothing he had ever felt before. They were close, _so _close. A part of her was inside of him, possessing his limbs whenever it felt it wanted to. This wasn't like his bond with Wyatt, this was much more strong, and definitely ten times more annoying. He should have never made this deal with the Source.

"You branded him with the symbol." The Source commented as he studied the freshly burned skin on his chest that was exposed by a gapping hole in his shirt. "There were much less _painful _ways for you to mark him." He informed her, letting his gaze fall over to Altus. His eyes fell back down to Chris, staring straight into the teenager's jade eyes. "But, I like your choice."

"Of course you do." Chris chimed in, rolling his eyes at the Source's comment.

"Watch it, _witch_." He warned, his black eyes narrowing and staring down hard at him.

"Why?" Chris asked as he crossed his arms, "It's not like you're going to _kill_ me or anything." The Source's glare got even harder at that. "You wouldn't have gone through all of this trouble if you wanted me _dead._ And, besides, you'd kill Meg too - I mean, _Altus_." He looked back toward the raven haired demon.

"You're lucky I spared your_ life_." The Source spat back, wanting more than anything to just snap his neck right then and there.

"And now, instead, I'm stuck under this bitch's control." Chris pointed his thumb back toward Altus. "Thanks for that. I would have rather chosen _death_ than having to kiss _her._" His eyes glanced back toward Altus, whose hazel eyes had narrowed, her expression clearly shined anger. "I feel like I need to wash out my mouth with _acid_ after that."

Chris suddenly felt that familiar tug at his heart and within seconds he had collapsed to his knees, weak from the amount of pain. He shouldn't have said that, but he had trouble keeping his mouth shut in situations like this. Sarcasm was something he used as a defense mechanism, and he had trouble thinking before he spoke at times.

The Source smiled down at him, watching with shear joy and amusement as Chris let out the scream he had been forcing himself to hold back after Altus increased the pain. The Source was getting some sick sense of pleasure out of this, and so was Altus. He wanted to kill them, he really did. Wanted to electrocute them all until those smirking, satisfied faces were nothing more than a browned crisp of flesh and bone.

"You should get used to the pain, Chris." Altus suggested as she kneeled down beside him and leaned in close to his ear. "Because the more you insult me, the more it'll happen." She finally released him and let the boy let out a gasp, his hand instantly grabbing at his chest, feeling the pain subside.

"He's got a mouth on him, doesn't he?" Altus commented, her gaze rising up to the Source, Chris' gaze following as well.

"He does." The Source replied. "But, in time, he'll lose it."

Altus smirked at this and let out a laugh.

"We've got big plans for you, Chris." She told him, breathing the words against his ear, causing Chris to flinch back. He didn't like how close she was to him, but he was worried that if he tried to move back and commented, she'd start up with the pain again. He was screwed. What had he gotten himself into? He should have never trusted the Source, or Altus. This had been a mistake.

"Really?" He asked, his eyes flashing from Altus up to the Source, knowing that the Ruler Of All Evil was no doubt the orchestrator of these 'big plans.' "Do tell."

"Now, that's none of your business, _witch_." The Source replied, eyes hardened and smirk completely vanished from his features. "You seem to forget your place quiet often, don't you?" He commented, not really asking the question but stating it as a fact. "_We_ control you now, we hold the power. You have no right to know what our plan is, and you have no way to object it. Feel lucky that I decided to spare your life and put you to use." His eyes narrowed, before he added on. "You killed someone very valuable to me, you're lucky I didn't rip you apart limb by limb."

Chris just stared up at him, taking in what he said and fighting the urge to say something smug back. This situation was serious, and that frightened him. He had no clue what they planned to use him for or how he would even get out of this one. The binding lock on his chest was near impossible to break, and he didn't even know if he would _ever_ be free of Altus now. Maybe for the rest of his life he'd be her slave. God, he had been such an_ idiot_. He should have looked into the symbol, he _wished_ he hadn't decided to push it aside like he had. That had been a big mistake, as well as trusting the Source and Altus in the first place.

There were so many questions floating around his head, so many uncertainties that left him feeling almost sick to his stomach. What were they going to do with him? Were they going to make him hurt someone, or even _kill? _How was he going to get away from this in one piece? He couldn't kill Altus because then _he _would die right there with her. And what about his family? Would he ever see them again? He remembered the looks on their faces when he left with Altus so clearly still. They were forever painted into his memory, and he felt like such an idiot for letting this happen again. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know what was going to happen to him. To be honest, all this uncertainty _terrified_ him, more than anything had ever before.

"Now, Chris." Altus started, looking toward the Source as she rested a hand on his head. "If you'll excuse us, the grown ups need to have a little talk, and we don't want any eavesdropping."

Suddenly, Chris felt everything start to blur, black splotches splattering his vision. He couldn't fight whatever Altus was doing to him, the pull of the black too strong, sucking him down into the dark. His vision swirled and blurred, eyes shutting slowly, and the black, empty darkness consumed him.

* * *

Thank you for reading and I hope you all review!

I hope you all liked the chapter and I will try to get the next one up as soon as possible.

Until then, thanks again for reading and please leave me some feedback. I love to hear what you all think.

:)


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own thoughts and ideas.**

Thank you all so much for the reviews for last chapter, I appreciate them all so much! Sorry this is a little bit late.

Enjoy!

:)

* * *

"When we find that demon, I'm going to blow her to _pieces_." Piper declared as she paced around the attic, the scattered members of her family looking up from their posts in the room.

"Well, honey," Phoebe started, her hand dangling over a map of the city, scrying for her nephew, "if you blow her up, you'll kill Chris too. So please, keep your impulses in check when we find them."

"You mean _if_ we find them." Paige corrected her, raising a finger. She stood near the Book, studying the page they found on Altus. "I doubt that Altus and Chris will actually surface, and we have no way of finding them down in the Underworld."

"We'll find them." Piper assured them, voice stern and filled with determination.

"Piper, I don't know -"

"No." She turned swiftly on her heels and turned to face Phoebe as she cut her off. "We're going to find Chris, we're going to save him. There has to be a way."

Footsteps caused the three sisters to look toward the attic stairs, catching Leo Wyatt as he walked in, carrying stacks of books in his hands.

"I got as many books on bonds as I could find." Leo replied as he made his way over to the couch and placed his books down on the ground before sitting next to his eldest son. "The symbol on Chris' chest is going to make things very hard though." He added. "It's like a lock. She was pretty clever for using it. It'll be hard to get her out of Chris since that's there."

"So, is Chris like, possessed?" Paige asked. "I don't understand exactly what's happening to him."

"Sort of." He replied, trying to figure out a way to explain everything. After a brief pause to think, he continued. "She can take control of his powers and limbs whenever she pleases, but unlike possession, Chris is fully conscious for everything."

"Well, apparently, even though he's fully conscious he's blocking me." Wyatt commented with annoyance, arms crossed. He had been trying his hardest to locate Chris for a while now, but all he got was nothing.

"That's probably Altus' doing." Leo informed him as he grabbed a book from the stack. "She can control anything magical, and your bond is magical, so she's probably making sure to keep Chris hidden from us."

"Stupid demon bitch." Wyatt cursed under his breath, clearly aggravated.

"So, how the hell are we supposed to find him?" Paige asked. "Wyatt can't sense him and I doubt that they'll surface anytime soon."

"I don't know." Leo replied as he looked up from the open book. "We'll find a way though."

"What do you think she plans to do with him?" Phoebe asked, very curious. She had been wondering that since Chris had disappeared with the demon. What was she planning on using his powers for? A lot of potential ideas filled hear head, and they all definitely did not end pretty. A lot of killing was what she expected. But of whom, she didn't know.

"Who knows." Piper answered, looking her sister's way. "But I'm going to make sure we find Chris before her plan can go into motion." She declared, eyes filled with determination and anger. "I'm not letting that _bitch_ use my son as her weapon."

"Hopefully Chris can fight her until we get to him." Leo commented. The longer Chris kept trying to fight for control, the longer they had to find him. At least, that's how Leo saw it. He doubted Altus would rush him and take his son right out without making sure she wouldn't lose control at the wrong moment. She seemed much too smart to do that.

"He wasn't too great at fighting her, from what we saw." Paige informed her brother-in-law, remembering clearly back to the day before, when Chris had flung his mother into that wall and could not seem to let her down.

"It'll definitely be a challenge for him to overcome her then." Leo mused, rubbing at his chin, his eyes traveling from Paige down to the open page in front of him. That worried him a bit. He had not seen what had happened up here yesterday, but he assumed Chris had at least been able to get control over his body at some point during the confrontation. With his son's strength, he would imagine it to be somewhat easy. That meant the bond was much stronger than Leo had expected it to be, which meant that he'd be worrying even more about his son. If Chris couldn't fight her, then that left them with a lot less time to find him - if they even could.

Piper studied her husband, instantly able to tell what he was thinking by the worry and concern that was exposed in his jade eyes.

"Her hold on him may be strong." Piper started up, causing Leo and the rest of the family to look her way. "But so is Chris."

* * *

It was pitch black in Chris' head, no dreaming, no visions, just the blackest black Chris had ever seen consuming him. He suddenly felt the harsh sting of cold, solid ground below him, the black starting to fade in intensity. As he fell back into reality and felt the cold that seemed to brush against his skin and limbs, he let his eyes open, finding himself laying on the hard, cold ground of a room. He sat himself up slowly, the clink of metal against the hard ground and the brush of cold against his wrists startling him. He looked down to his arms and spotted a set of shackles wrapped around them.

"You're finally awake." Altus' voice commented, causing Chris to instantly turn his head toward the sound, eyes narrowed and hands curled into fists as he spotted the raven-haired demon. The Source was standing next to her, as well as some other demon he didn't know. The gray-haired man stared down at him, smirking.

"Why'd you chain me up?" Chris asked her. He really hated being restrained. "It's not like I can really hurt you or anything, sadly." A pause. "I'm not a big fan of restraints."

"Just a safety precaution, I suppose." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Probably not a needed one, but I do enjoy seeing you chained up like this. If it irritates you, then I like it even more."

"Try shutting him in a small room." The unfamiliar demon responded, wearing a wide smirk. "They way he reacts. Now, _that_ is pure bliss."

"Who the _hell_ are you?" Chris demanded, anger shining from his jade eyes. "And how the hell do you know that?"

"Oh, yes. We haven't formerly met, have we?" The demon started, clearly amused. "I am Barbas, the Demon of Fear." He paused, studying Chris' confused and angered glare. "Remember that gray, doorless room, and your older brother stabbing your mother before your very eyes? That was all me."

Chris stared at him for a minute, taking in what he said while his eyes narrowed and fists curled even tighter. So _this_ was what was happening to him. He had been right to think it was a demon. He couldn't believed he had missed that connection. He feared small spaces and he feared his visions becoming his reality. It had been so simple, and he missed it!

"Bastard!" Chris hissed, moving his hands up, ready to attack. "I'm going to _vanquish_ your ass. I swear to God!"

"Oh." Barbas exclaimed teasingly, crossing his arms and wearing a devilish smile. "Tough words for such a small little witch."

Chris thrashed forward, wanting more than anything to strangle the smirk right off of Barbas' prideful features. The chains held him back, the cold metal harshly rubbing against his wrists.

Barbas laughed, and with the sound, Chris' temper grew.

"No, Chris." Altus started, Chris' hands suddenly being forced to fall. She kneeled down beside him and stared at him, straight into his jade eyes. "As much as I hate this demon and would _love _to see his annoying ass vanquished, I can't let you do that." Chris' eyes flashed from her to Barbas, glare shining his rage. She grabbed his head with her hands and forced him to look her way. "Calm down, witch." She ordered him, tone soft but stern. "You're not getting him."

She stared into his eyes for a moment, closing her eyes as she concentrated and forced him to calm down, pushing thoughts of revenge out of his mind for the time being. She needed him calm. He was easier to control when his emotions weren't boiling out of control. She opened her eyes once she was done, watching as Chris tried to free himself of her grasp. She let her hands fall before turning to Barbas, eyes narrowed.

"You got my witch all riled up." She informed him, tone laced with irritation and clear distaste. Barbas went to open his mouth, clearly wanting to say something about Chris. Altus suddenly held up her hand, motioning for him to shut his mouth before even getting the words out. "Don't say another word about it. I might just let him kill you if you keep it up."

"Aw, come on, Altus." Barbas replied. "I thought we were on the same team here?"

"Apparently so." Altus said as she stood up and turned to face the Source and Barbas, gaze directed toward the irksome demon. "But, for the record, I find you rather annoying and if we weren't working together, I'd _gladly_ let my new prodigy kill you."

"Sadly for you, Altus. I'd just come back." Barbas informed her with a smirk. "Fear never -"

"Yes, I get it already." She cut him off with a roll of her eyes. "You have no idea how annoying your ego can be."

"Quite the contrary, Altus." Barbas raised a finger with smile. "I think my ego makes me even _more_ likable." Altus just rolled her eyes again and decided to just let it go. Barbas' gaze landed back down on the Halliwell son that sat before them, staring into the boy's rage-filled eyes, before looking over toward the Source.

"So, now that you have Chris here, what are you planning to do with him?" Barbas asked his ruler, the demon's black eyes moving from Altus over to him. "I _did_ help you get to this point, didn't I?" A pause. "I think I deserve to know what great plan your Highness has come up with."

The Source stared at Barbas for a moment, his eyes flashing to Altus briefly, before speaking up. "Fine, Barbas." He said. "I will inform you of the plan." His eyes suddenly darted over to Chris, catching onto the curious and rage-filled glance Chris was sending his way. "But not in front of the witch."

"Hey!" Chris exclaimed, peeved at the Source's secrecy. "I think _me_ of all people should be allowed to know your plan!" A pause. "_I'm_ the one who's going to be forced to do it!" His eyes flashed from the Source to Altus, waiting for one of them to finally explain what they had in store for him. He'd been wondering that since he was shimmered away from the manor.

"Yet again, witch, you forget your place down here." The Source growled, black eyes narrowed in his direction. "You don't get to demand answers. You get to know what _we_ decide to tell you."

"Besides," Altus cut in, crossing her arms and shining a sickening smirk. "It's not like you have any choice in the matter anyway. If you know, you'll just scream about how you'll _never_ let us make you do that and all that crap." She paused, catching onto the glare Chris was giving her. It pleased her immensely. "I don't want to hear you bitch, so it's better you're kept in the dark. For my sake, you know?"

"How long do you think it'll take to get him ready?" The Source suddenly asked, his gaze drifting over to Altus. She turned her head back his way and thought for a moment.

"I'll probably have to take him on a few test runs first." She declared, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "Just to make sure I've got him under control. I don't want any problems when we do the real deal, you know?"

The Source gave a nod and Altus turned her head back to Chris, staring at him for a moment, before a sickening smirk stretched across her features.

"I just got the _best_ idea for our first test run." She proclaimed, her hand suddenly reaching forward and grabbing onto Chris' arm. "Let's go."

* * *

Piper stirred rigorously, mixing together a pile of dry ingredients with milk and eggs. Though she was stirring the mixture together with much speed, it was relaxing to her. Cooking relaxed her, and whenever she was upset or unsettled, she'd always resort to the smell of baking foods and art of cooking to assuage her. After hours of pacing back and forth up in the attic, looking from her sisters to her son and husband, waiting for Chris to suddenly surface, Paige had finally snapped. Her youngest sister had urged her to go downstairs and calm down, informing her that her constant pacing was driving her crazy. She had reluctantly agreed after Phoebe and even Wyatt agreed with her younger sister, insisting that she take a break from worrying and occupy herself with something else. They were going to take care of everything else. So instantly she had hurried to her kitchen and grabbed out the ingredients to make a cake, then shortly after that, the ingredients to make Chunky Chocolate Chip cookies - Chris' favorite. Though Chris would not be here to eat half a tray of them, she'd make sure to save him some for when he returned.

She finished mixing the ingredients together and heard a timer go off for the oven, causing her to instantly drop the spoon she was using and rush over to the stove. She grabbed out the freshly cooked cake and smiled at the aroma before placing it down on the counter to cool.

"Whoa." Wyatt's voice exclaimed from the entrance to the kitchen, causing Piper to look up briefly and watch her son walk in before going right back to her cookies.

Wyatt had had a feeling his mother would be in the kitchen, and when he smelled the faint aroma of her amazing chocolate fudge cake, he knew he had been right. Whenever his mother was upset, she resorted to the vast ingredients in her kitchen to assuage her. Wyatt had merely expected a simple batch of cookies, but she was making a cake _and_ cookies. She had also pulled out some meat to allow it to thaw. Who knew what she planned to make with that, but Wyatt could only assume it would be delicious.

He made his way over to the counter and leaned against it with his elbows, watching as his mother scooped out balls from the bowl of dough beside her, placing them carefully on a tray, making sure the spacing between them was just right.

She was cooking Chris' favorites, he realized. The cake had been another one of Chris' favorite deserts. He also had a feeling the thawing meat was for her famous lasagna, something Chris would devour in seconds if he was here. His mother was clearly a lot more worried than usual. Excessive amounts of cooking were only reserved for special, unsettling occasions, and her relative theme of Chris' favorites alerted him instantly. She was much more worried than she was showing, and her pacing had been more than just anger and frustration.

"You know we'll find him mom." Wyatt spoke up, trying to assure his mother that things would be alright, hoping to help calm her down.

Piper looked up from the pan and stopped her scooping before letting out a sigh. "I know we will." She agreed, letting go of the cookie scoop and placing her hands on the counter. "I just don't like the idea of losing him again so soon after everything that's happened these past few months already." She confessed. "Especially not to that _bitch_."

"We haven't really lost him." Wyatt told her. "He's not gone forever, and we'll get him back sooner than you think."

Piper raised an eyebrow at this. "_You're_ being a lot more optimistic than usual." She commented. "You just seem _so_ convinced we'll get Chris back so soon."

"What's wrong with having a little hope?" Wyatt retorted with a shrug of his shoulders. He wasn't really as optimistic about the whole situation as he was pretending to be, but he was putting on a show to help his mother. Apparently she was seeing through it though. "We always get Chris back, and if we can just find a way to take care of that demon bitch who's controlling him, it'll all be over."

"I know." She replied, voice seeming a bit off. "The thing is, I don't know _what_ we'll get back this time."

Wyatt raised an eyebrow as this, expression shining his bemusement.

"What do you mean?" He asked, rather confused by his mother's cryptic reply.

"I've read about what this demon can do, Wyatt." She informed her son, eyes falling onto her tray of cookies, itching to scoop out more as her thoughts drifted back to uneasy ideas. "She's going to use Chris to do something evil. Even if it is her, Chris will see it as his own hands committing the act, and I don't know how he'll handle that."

That worried Piper more than anything. Whatever they wanted with her son, it couldn't be good. With her son's already fragile mental state, she was worried on how he would handle whatever it was Altus was going to make him do. She would be playing with her son's mind, tricking it by making him watch as his own two hands committed some evil unknown to them.

"We'll get him back before she even gets to use him." Wyatt told her, voice strong and assuring.

"Again, you're being _way_ too optimistic." Piper commented. "This isn't you. There's no way you believe any of what you're saying. You grew up with _me_ as you mother, for Pete's sake!"

She swiftly began scooping cookies again, eyes drifting back up to Wyatt after picking up her cookie scoop.

"We'll save him before she can do anything mom, we will." Wyatt repeated, sounding more determined than ever, trying to use that to hide the undertones of worry and doubt that had been seeping their way through.

"Alright, honey." She replied, plopping a ball of dough onto the tray. "We will."

Wyatt watched as she scooped another cookie out, catching onto the disbelief and worry that she thought was hidden behind her eyes. That look began to remind Wyatt of his similar doubt, and he couldn't help but begin to feel his facade of optimism shatter and crumble before him.

The truth was, he was worried for his brother's safety, worried that they would indeed find him too late, and worried for what that demon had in store for him. He didn't know if they'd even find Chris, if he'd even surface. In all honesty, he was probably filled with as much disbelief in his own words as his mother. Maybe even _more.

* * *

_

Altus and Chris reappeared in a familiar spot, Chris' eyes going wide as he spotted the murky store and breathed in the mixed scent of Mandrake Root and lavender hovering in the stuffy air. His eyes swiftly flashed over to Altus.

"What are we doing here?" He asked, confused and worried about what she planned to do.

"You'll see." Altus told him as she made her way to the counter. She pressed her palm against the table bell, listening to the simple chime and letting her eyes wander over to the back of the room. She waited for Terry to appear.

When the demon appeared and spotted the two, he quickly raised an eyebrow.

"Chris, Meg. I didn't expect to see you here." He commented as he made his way to the counter. "What brings you down here, Chris?" His eyes travelled over to the brunette witch, who stood behind Altus. He had this odd look in his eyes, and Terry couldn't really decipher what or why it was there. "Did the potion work?"

"Oh yes." Altus replied, smirking. "Your potion worked perfectly."

She turned around and looked toward Chris, who sent her a hardened glare in reply. Suddenly, before Chris could even register what had happened, his hand flung forward and Terry flew back into the wall, where Chris was forced to pin him.

"Thanks for all your help, Ter." Altus told him, looking away from the wide eyed witch and over to the surprised demon. "I really appreciate it."

"Stop!" Chris yelled at the raven-haired demon, his hand shaking as he tired to fight her hold, trying to push his hand down and release Terry. "Let him go, Altus!"

Terry's eyes suddenly widened even more as the realization struck him and his eyes landed on the branded symbol on Chris' chest that he couldn't see before. He knew what that symbol was, he knew what it was used for, and everything just came together once he saw it. Altus was controlling him - a part of her possessing him - and using him like a soldier to do her bidding. She had been working for the Source all along, and had fooled Chris.

He let his gaze wander away from Chris and over to Altus, his eyes instantly narrowing.

"I had a feeling you weren't who you seemed to be." Terry commented, watching as her smirk grew at the statement.

"Well, you were right about that." She replied, pushing herself up onto the counter and turning her body to face the demon. She crossed her legs, smirk never fading. "On to other matters, though." She started, leaning her hands back against the surface. "You should know that helping this witch - a _Halliwell_, of all people - is a serious act of betrayal to our ruler, the Source." She forced Chris' hold to tighten, causing Chris to let out another plea for her to stop. She ignored him and went on. "You know what the punishment for such a crime is?" She paused for emphasis, waiting for no answer though she knew he knew exactly what the punishment was. "Death."

"No, Altus!" Chris screamed from his spot, fighting as hard as he could now, only able to lower his arm a half an inch at best. "I am _not_ killing him! I can't do that! I won't do it!" He tried to lower his arm even more, tried to stop attacking, but could not. He couldn't believe he was going to do this, but he was actually going to beg. "Please." He pleaded. "Don't make me kill him. It's not right!"

Altus turned and looked his way. "Sorry, kid. But this just has to be done, and trust me, it'll be _much_ quicker if it's done with your hands."

Chris' other hand suddenly rose, sparks flying around his palms, and Chris tried to fight it, but within seconds, his hand was releasing massive amounts of electricity, all sent Terry's way. The demon let out a sickening scream and Chris had to look away, waiting for the screaming to stop and Terry to disappear. He didn't like the idea of killing an ally, especially Terry. Terry had been so helpful and he had grown to like the fanged demon. This wasn't right.

The screaming suddenly stopped and Chris' hands were freed again. He heard Altus laugh from her spot; clearly she had fully enjoyed watching Terry die so painfully. Chris stared down at his hands, the same thought running over and over through his head: _He_ had killed Terry, he had _killed_ him. Technically he hadn't, it had been Altus' doing, but it had been _his_ hands, _his _powers. Even if Terry was a demon, the whole thing just felt so wrong to him, so evil. He felt like he was going to be sick.

"Wasn't that fun?" She asked Chris as she turned and hopped off the counter, making her way over to the teenager. She studied him for a moment, catching onto the look in his eyes as he stared down at his hands, and she let out a laugh. "Oh_ please,_ Chris. He was a demon, no need to get so sentimental about it." Chris looked up her way, his eyes narrowing instantly. "Terry wasn't a good guy. You didn't know his other side, his _evil_ side. All you knew was what you wanted to see. He helped you, so he was good. He was a way more complex character than that. He was a demon, and no demon like him does anything unless it benefits him."

"I'll kill you, Altus. I swear." Chris hissed her way, making sure not to fling his hands forward and attack like he wished. He'd only feel that aching pain in his chest again, and he'd rather avoid that if possible.

Altus let out a snort and crossed her arms, smirk wide. "Oh really?" She replied, clearly amused. "I'd like to see you try."

Chris stared at her, eyes narrowed, wishing more than anything he could just kill her right there. Then, suddenly, the sound of the door creaking open behind them alerted the two, Chris and Altus both turning their gaze toward it. Chris' eyes widened when he spotted the brunette Phoenix standing before them, eyebrow raised.

"Great timing, _Bianca_." Altus commented, looking from the Phoenix to Chris. "I believe you owe him an 'I told you so.'"

Bianca looked from Altus to Chris, spotting the brand on his chest through the singed hole in his shirt. She recognized the symbol instantly as the one that had been on the necklace Altus had given Chris, and her eyes narrowed.

"What did you do to him?" Bianca asked, raising a hand and letting an energy ball appear and swirl in her palm.

"Ah, not so fast." Altus raised a finger and made her way over to Chris, stepping behind him. "If you kill me, you'll kill him. So, let's just lower that hand there, alright?"

Bianca glared at her, and Chris knew her well enough to know she wasn't exactly buying this. "Bianca." Chris started up, grabbing her attention. "She's telling the truth. So _please,_ just get rid of the energy ball."

Bianca studied Chris, his features assuring her that he was indeed being sincere. She obeyed, lowering her hand and letting the ball disappear from her palm.

"Terry's dead." Altus suddenly told her, causing Bianca's eyes to widen before narrowing swiftly again. "Sorry for your loss." She grabbed onto Chris' arm, making sure to keep herself behind him, worried that this rash witch would attack after her declaration.

"Later, Phoenix." Altus exclaimed. The two of them disappeared swiftly after that, Altus' smirk never fading.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading and hopefully you all review! I love to hear feedback!

Sadly, this will probably be my last update for a while. I start college on the 19th and I'll be getting ready to leave and beyond that day I'll probably be working like crazy. I can't tell you when I'll update next, but I will try to write when I get the chance. This story will get finished at some point.

So, until then, thank you all for reading and hopefully you stick with this story through the long breaks between chapters.

:)


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own thoughts and ideas.**

Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated, hasn't it? Sorry about that, school got in my way. But now, winter break has started, and you guys get a new chapter! Yay!

I hope you all enjoy it, and please review!

:)

* * *

Leo hurried his way through the Magic School library, searching frantically for a solution, a way to bring his son back and out of the grip of that demon. His search had come up fruitless so far, every book and passage doing nothing to assuage his worry, instead, making it worse. Each passage stressed how strong this bond was, how _near impossible_ it was to break. Using a bond like this was considered immoral, sadistic and just pure _evil_. It practically trapped the two beings together eternally. Their life strings were now intertwined, and if one died, the other died with them. It turned one into a puppet, the person who created the bond having control over them _and_ their powers whenever they wanted. These words crushed Leo's hope, and the likelihood of things going smoothly seemed to be diminishing by the second.

"Dammit, Chris." Leo cursed to himself, flipping past a read page in a book. "You've really gotten yourself into one hell of a mess."

Leo ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh, looking up to the two others who were in the room with him, helping in his search. Chris' friend Zooey and her father were reading and scouring the school library as well, trying to find a solution. They had offered their help once they heard what had happened to Chris - news like this tended to travel through the magical grapevine pretty quickly. Leo gratefully accepted the offer. The more help, the sooner they'd get Chris back to normal, that's how he saw it.

"He's always getting himself into situations like this." Zooey commented from her spot across the room, scanning a page of a book, pencil and pad to her left. "You think he would have learned by now to keep himself out of trouble."

"Chris is too _reckless_." Leo commented. "Until he grows out of it, this is going to be a common occurrence."

"Most teenage boys tend to be." Zooey's father added. He pulled a book off the shelf as he looked back their way.

"Chris just takes it to a whole new level." The ex-Elder stated with a sigh. "Wyatt's got a bit of it in him too, but Chris doesn't always think things through." Leo paused, turned the page again, then added on. "He doesn't get that he _needs_ help sometimes, that that's what _I'm_ here for. What we're_ all_ here for."

Zooey nodded her head.

"I think everyone has told him that about twenty times, but he still doesn't get it." She said. "He's always been more of a loner though."

Leo gave a nod in reply, eyes falling back down to his book before flipping the page seconds later with a sigh. He'd been doing research ever since Chris and Altus went M.I.A. but all he'd come up with wasn't helpful, it worsened the situation. At this rate, the only solution Leo could see to Chris breaking the bond was being killed. The thought of that made Leo feel sick to his stomach, his thoughts flashing back to the other Chris, and the day he had been killed. God, the thought of losing his son again, after all the times they've come so close to it lately almost brought tears to his eyes. He was a usually strong man, but he had always had a soft spot when it came to Chris. Of course, the same was with Wyatt, but Chris was his youngest, his little boy. He couldn't lose any of his children, never again.

He began to wonder about how Chris was doing, where he was right then. What was Altus doing to him? What were her motive behind this, what was the big plan? The one thing he was thankful and assure of was that, wherever they were, whatever they were doing, his son's life was safe. The demon wouldn't let anyone harm him, and that was a small comfort.

Leo shut the book he was looking at and ran a hand through his short hair, feeling almost defeated. So many books, but not one could give him an answer that he needed.

"Have any of you found anything?" He asked, gaze shifting between Zooey and her father.

The two looked up from their books and Zooey shook her head, her father following with the same movement.

Leo let out a hopeless sigh, feeling ready to give up on his search. Nothing seemed to hold the key to setting his son free and returning him back to the family.

Zooey and her father both looked at Leo with somber expressions, each feeling his pain. Chris was a close friend of Zooey's - well, the two had drifted as of late, but she still considered him her friend. She cared about him, and she was worried about what would happen to him under Altus' control. What would she make him do? And how much would it change the teenage boy she knows?

"Leo," Zooey's father starts, grabbing the man's attention. "Even though we haven't found an answer, we'll find one. But for now, maybe we should just concern ourselves with getting Chris back before she can cause him any damage."

"I think, perhaps, that if you try to summon him and trap him in a crystal cage, that would keep the demon from getting him back." He suggests. "I'm not positive, but I think it would work."

Leo's eyes widened at the statement. Of course, why hadn't he thought of that? They could use the To Call a Lost Witch spell in the Book to bring him back and trap him. Chris wouldn't exactly like being trapped, but it would be for his own good. He wasn't sure, but he hoped it would keep Altus away from him, at least until they could come up with something else.

"That could work!" Leo exclaimed.

"What could work?" Paige's voice suddenly chimed in as she made her way into the library, her spirits lifting at her brother-in-law's exclamation. Had he found a way to break Chris from the demon-bitches bond! She hoped so, because the second Chris was free, she and her sisters would make sure to give that bitch one painful vanquishing.

"Have you found a way to break the bond?" She asked as she neared him, excited and smiling.

"Not yet." Leo told her, "But, I've got an idea on how to get Chris back to us, at least for a little bit. It could give us some time to figure it out, and we'd know he's at least safe from her influence."

"Anything you've got, I'm all for." Paige assured him. "I think I'm speaking for everyone when I say that getting Chris away from that bitch would be a step in the right direction."

Leo grew a small smile and nodded in agreement. "Orb us back to the Manor." Leo insisted, his eyes quickly falling onto Zooey and her father. "Thank you both for you help."

"No problem." Zooey replied with a smile. "Keep us posted.

Leo gave a nod in reply, and seconds later, the two had vanished in a swirl of orbs, ready to set Leo's plan into action.

* * *

Altus gripped Chris' hand, guiding him reluctantly through the cluttered alleyways of the Underworld Markets. For the first time, Chris was walking through the crowded streets without a hood up, his face fully exposed to the curious and sadistic eyes of the demons he passed by. Terry's death had him still left in a state of shellshocked, the realization that he had truly murdered the demon swelling in the pit of his stomach. All he wanted to do was kill Altus, make her feel as much pain as she had forced him to make Terry feel. Yes, he was a demon, like she said, but he wasn't evil. Terry had helped him out, Terry was his friend. This wasn't like vanquishing some random demon who threatened his family, this felt like cold blooded murder. It felt different, it felt like he had blood on his hands for the first time.

Chris heard the sporadic snicker from demons as he passed them, all eyes on him as he walked openly right past them. They all knew who he was, all could see the mark on his chest through his singed shirt. They knew Altus had control over him, he was her _slave_. They all found it so fucking amusing.

He could hear whispers of his name in passing conversations, always followed by those snickers. He tried to ignore it, but it was hard. They all saw him now not as some all powerful Halliwell, not as someone to be feared, but some stupid witch who had been tricked into becoming Altus' meat puppet. He was her slave, he realized that now. She controlled his actions, everything he did. She owned him, in a sense. Wasn't that the definition of a slave?

"What happened, little Halliwell?" He heard a demon call, eyes flying back to spot the speaker. "Looks like the tables have turned; instead of one of us being your little bitch, your ours!"

Chris' eyes narrowed and he gripped Altus hand hard, wanted nothing more but to vanquish the demon. He marked his appearance - two horns, beady eyes, chubby frame - and put it to memory. Once he was through with this and free of Altus, he'd make sure to find him and vanquish his ass.

Altus suddenly squeezed his hand hard back, causing him to look toward her. "You try to attack any of the demons in the Markets and I'll hurt you, you understand me?" She sent the warning his way with narrowed eyes.

He turned his head back and looked toward the horned demon once more before feeling another hard squeeze, this time at his heart. He shut his eyes and held back a moan, his hand reaching up to his chest. The two stopped moving, standing in the middle of the crowd. He could feel the eyes on him, knew they stared at him with pleasure, liking the image of a member of the infamous Halliwell family being tortured before their very eyes. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

"You got it?" She asked again, this time waiting for an answer.

"I got it." Chris groaned out, voice strained and stiff, shining his pain.

Seconds later, the pain began to vanish and Altus began to walk, dragging his recovering body with her, his feet stumbling along the ground while his hand still clung to the remains of his shirt.

"Where are we going?" Chris asked her, curious. He thought that when they shimmered out of Terry's store they would have gone back to the Source. Instead, they landed in a random alleyway of the Markets, one that Chris was not familiar with.

"I've got another test run for you." She stated, turning her head to look back at him as they begin to walk again. "Don't worry, he's no one you know. You won't have to get so sentimental about it like you did back there with Terry." She wore a smirk, almost mocking the fact that he felt an emotion after vanquishing his friend. "This guy owes me some money, and his time to pay up has expired."

"Are you ever going to tell me what you're really going to use me for?" He inquired, eyes narrowed and shining his annoyance.

"It'll probably come up sometime." She suspected, shrugging her shoulders. "When we get closer to acting on the plan, of course." She paused for a second as they turned the corner. "Like I said, you're not going to like it. I don't want to hear you whining for hours on end about it until it happens." She turned her head back and looked straight at him. "And trust me, it _will_ happen. There's no way out of this one, kiddo."

"What are you going to do with me after you enact this 'plan?'" He inquired, pushing through two demons who stood in his way. "Get rid of me?"

She let out a laugh at that. "Of course not!" Her head turned back, sadistic smile shining. "The Source will want me to keep you and continue using you as his weapon, obviously. Trust me, the Source put a lot of thought into what he was going to do with you."

"I won't let you do that." Chris insisted. "I'll figure out a way out of this."

Altus let out another laugh. "Yeah, Halliwell, you keep believing that."

They made their way further down the street, laughter still trailing them, eyes still watching them move like this was some sort of show they were putting on for the crowd. A comedic act. The once powerful Halliwell son turned into the pet of some demon. Hilarious, right? Chris had to admit, if he was in their shoes, he'd be laughing at well. It was hilarious, it was embarrassing. They way he looked, the way Altus dragged him along, the way she had tortured him right in front of the entire market. It was something the Underworld had been waiting to see ever since his family became a massive threat.

Suddenly, Chris felt a rock collide with his head, causing him to stumble forward, bumping into Altus. She stopped her steps swiftly and looked around as Chris rubbed at the back of his head, feeling blood dampen his hair. He brought his hand down and stared at the smears of crimson on his fingers, trying to assess the damage. Altus' eyes darted down to his hand before darting back up seconds later, following the loud eruption of laughter that came from near a stand. When she spotted the supposed culprit, whose eyes sat right on them, watching and laughing at the sight, she quickly charged him. She grabbed his collar and slammed his head into the wooden counter of the stand near him, bring his head back up and inches away from her seconds later.

"Did you just throw a rock at my witch's head?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

The demon just stared, eyes wide, struggling to speak, stuttering nonsense. Her eyes narrowed even more and she slammed his head against the wood again, blood staining the surface now and trailing down his neck.

"Try that again, and I'll _kill_ you, you understand me?" She warned him. "He's an important asset to the _Source_, and I know you wouldn't want to mess with him, would you?"

The demon shook his head frantically, eyes wide and frightened.

"Good." She declared, letting his collar go and standing up straight. She turned her head back to look at Chris, but the boy had disappeared. She looked around the crowd, trying to spot him, before letting out a snort.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" She exclaimed, raising her arms up. "Where the hell did he go?"

* * *

Piper threw rosemary into a mortar, hands reaching over to the bowl of Cypress to add that in next. While Piper prepared the mixture, Paige was placing the last of the crystals down in a circle on top of the rug. She had already placed some around the house, protecting it from any demon that would want to come in.

"That oughta' do it." Paige declared as she stood up and stepped back, staring at the circle. "He won't be getting out of there ... hopefully."

She turned and faced Wyatt, Leo and Phoebe, who each sat on the couch, waiting patiently for things to be ready to begin. She stared at each of their faces, catching onto the hope, as well as the doubt, that this plan will actually work. She hoped for the best, they all did, but she could agree with their doubt. Who knew if this would work? The bond Chris and Altus had was strong. But, there was a chance it would, and that alone made it worth a shot.

"Alright." Paige clasped her hands together and turned on her heels to face Piper. "Are we ready to start the spell?"

"Just waiting for Coop to bring me up the yarrow root, then we can start." Piper informed her sister.

Seconds later, Coop appeared from the stairs, carrying a bowl containing the yarrow root in his hands. He handed Piper over the bowl and the eldest sister thanked him, quickly going to throw in the last ingredient.

"Alright." Piper declared, standing up and grabbing the pestle, eyes darting over to her family. "Ready?"

The five of them nodded, and with that Piper began, pestle smashing into the dry ingredients:

"Power of the witches rise

Course unseen across the skies

Come to us who call you near

Come to us and settle here."

She stopped grinding and picked up the athame, pricking her left index finger with the tip. She applied pressure to her finger and allowed the blood to drip into the mortar, and finished the spell.

"Blood to blood, I summon thee.

Blood to blood, return to me."

All eyes flashed to the circle, waiting and praying that something would happen. When a swirl of bright lights began to form in the middle, each member of the family felt a surge of surprise and hope fill their chests, watching as a disheveled Chris formed in the crystal cage.

"Chris!" Piper exclaimed, relieved as she made her way to the circle, so happy to see her son again. "Thank God you're okay!"

He stared at her for a second, wide eyed, taking everything in, before quickly speaking up.

"Dammit, why did you guys summon me?" He exclaimed, running a hand through his hair, worried. "You shouldn't have done this."

"Jeez." Paige commented, crossing her arms. "A 'thanks for saving my ass' would have been nice to hear."

"You haven't saved my ass." He retorted back. "You've probably just gotten _yours_ killed."

"Oh _please_." Paige responded, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "We took precautions."

Paige's gaze motioned to the ground, and Chris' eyes followed, spotting the crystals around him, his eyes flashing back up instantly.

"Put them all around the house too." Paige added with a smirk, drawing Chris attention back to her. "There's no way she's getting you out of here."

Chris took a few seconds to assess Paige's information before nodding his head and sitting down on the ground. This could work. She _is_ a demon, so there's no way she's getting in this house. But the main word there is_ 'could.' _Altus is an upper-level demon, and he's still not sure what tricks she has up her slimy sleeves.

"Now that we've got that out of the way." Piper cut in, crossing her arms and causing Chris' eyes to dart up her way. "Why the _hell_ did you let a demon get that close to you so that she could do this?"

Chris just stared at her, taking in the fiery in her eyes, not really sure how to explain it. There was no way to exclaim it wasn't _his_ fault, because it was. He trusted the wrong demon. Even that was going to get him one hell of a scolding. Trusting demons was not something Halliwells were supposed to do. There is rarely a grey area to his family when it came to demons. Demon equals evil, and nothing else. Not _okay_, not _good_, evil. That's why he couldn't let them know he was still seeing Bianca.

Bianca ... God, he should have listened to her, taken her advice. He's such an _idiot_.

"I don't know." Chris responded, rubbing at his temples. "I'm just an idiot."

"You got that right." Wyatt cut in from his spot on the couch, arms crossed.

Chris turned his head and looked his brother's way, almost tempted to narrow his eyes at the older boy, but he let it go. It was the truth. Instead, he just gave him a look shining his annoyance.

"Thanks for the input there, Wyatt." He commented.

"You know how stupid it was to trust a _demon,_ Chris?" Wyatt shot back.

"Not all demons are bad."

"No," Wyatt agreed, staring his brother down. "But _most_ are."

"_Please_." Chris responded with a roll of his eyes. "Like you would know."

"Yeah, you're right Chris. I mean, I don't spend my time in the Underworld Markets, getting in bar fights with demons." Wyatt spat back, Chris' eyes going a bit wide, still filled with anger.

"Wait, what!" Piper cut in, eyes flashing from Wyatt to Chris, confused and outraged.

"That's not true! You totally just twisted that whole situation. I was _collateral damage_. I didn't start the fight. And you weren't supposed to tell mom and dad about that. It's like brother code: you don't share things I confide to you with our parents!"

"Alright, enough with the fighting!" Phoebe cut in, standing up and raising her hands, eyes flashing from Wyatt to Chris. "This isn't really the time for you two to bicker. Right now, we need to figure out how to get Chris out of this mess."

"Did you guys find a way to break the bond?" Chris asked, looking from his aunt to his mother expectantly. He hoped they found an answer. He watched as his mother's eyes went down to the brand on his chest, staring at it with an almost unreadable expression.

"No." Leo answered, causing Chris to turn his gaze toward his father. "I've been researching ever since you and Altus disappeared, but I can't find anything."

There was a brief silence that fell over the room, all dwelling on that fact.

"Shit. I've really screwed up this time, haven't I?" Chris commented, smiling dully as he ran a hand through his hair, wincing suddenly as he rubbed against the gash in his head. He had forgotten about that.

"What happened to your head, Chris?" Leo asked as he spotted the blood on his son's hand that he hadn't noticed before.

"Nothing." Chris shrugged it off. "Just some demon." Chris left it at that, feeling no need to explain any more. "So, what's the plan here? You keep me trapped until you figure out what to do?"

"Pretty much." Paige replied with shrug. "It's the only thing we could think of."

"Do you know why Altus did this to you?" Phoebe asked. "What does she want you to do?" She had been wondering why Altus choose him, what she wanted with him that she couldn't do herself. She was a powerful demon by the looks of it, and that made her wonder what exactly the demon had in mind for her nephew.

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "They haven't told me yet."

"'_They?'_" Piper asked, confused. "It's not just Altus who's pulling the strings here?" A pause. "No pun intended."

Chris glared at her for a moment for her wording.

"The Source is kind of involved." Chris added in, eyes falling to the ground.

"Of course." Piper declared, shining frustration. "The Source would _have_ to be involved. Couldn't just be a simple demon, had to be the Source as well."

"Sorry." Chris replied.

"Explains why all those demon attacks suddenly stopped." Paige chimed in. "He was focusing on this."

"Uh, not really ..." Chris cut in, drawing all eyes toward him once again. "I kind of had a part in him stopping the attacks."

"What did you do, Chris?" Piper asked, worried more than angry at the moment.

"Well, I kind of made a deal with him that I would find a way to weaken my bond with Wyatt if he stopped attacking us." Chris shyly shared, knowing that this wasn't really making things better.

"Oh, _Chris_!" Piper exclaimed, outraged and concerned for her son.

"Digging your hole deeper here, kid." Paige commented.

"I know." Chris replied somewhat solemnly.

"Why would you want to weaken our bond?" Wyatt asked, seeming a bit hurt.

"You know how much I hate it, Wyatt." Chris told him. "But now I really wish I hadn't done it."

_Chris._

The voice in his head caused his eyes to widen and he instantly rose to his feet.

"Oh shit oh _shit!"_ Chris hissed, pacing. "She's found me." His eyes flashed up to his mother, shining such a fearful gaze that it caused Piper so much pain to see. She had never seen him that afraid, not in a long while. She was fearful to. She wanted to keep her son here, she wanted nothing more than for her youngest to finally be safe, for all of this stuff with the Source to finally be over.

"You'll be safe here, don't worry honey." Phoebe tried to assure him, but to no avail.

_Chris, it's time to go._

Her voice echoed through his head and suddenly he fell to his knees, hand reaching out to grab a crystal.

"Chris, no!" Piper and Paige screamed in unison, the first to spot what he was intending on doing.

The others watched with wide eyes as he touched the crystal, instantly being thrown into the opposite wall of the cage, body shocked. He slowly rose back up, trying to recover, as his family watched, worried and frightened.

They knew it wasn't him who was doing it, they knew Altus was causing him to reach out for the crystals, trying to get him to break the circle since she could not shimmer in. Chris couldn't fight her, they could tell that, and it pained them all to watch him.

_Come on, Chris. Break it._

Chris' hand went out again and he gripped the crystal, fighting the urge to let go as pain radiated through his body. The crystal finally moved out of place, and as Chris flew back, this time headed into the wall, his body disappearing in a swirl of blue and white orbs as he flew back, leaving the Halliwell Manor once again and returning back to Altus. To his master.

* * *

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

I don't know the next time I will update, but I will try to do it once again before winter break is over.

Until then, thanks for reading and please please please review!

Happy Holidays!

:)


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